Progress Report
Wort Of Dredging The Harbor
OoosOn With Few Interruptions
By Sig Digree
'(This is the second in a series of
articles on the Small Boat Harbor
project. The first dealt with the
wnilding of the first breakwater.)
The continuous hum of the
puro-- engine, the flickering lights
of the catwalk and the frequent
sround of the horn blowing—gives
life fo the harbor area these days
i*s the crew of Mansonj-Osberg
pursue their digging operation
thM will spell reality for the small
boat harbor in the not too distant
future.
The operation holds a fascina
tion to Kodiak residents as they
'atch the dredging crew virtually
• iff the bottom out of the harbor
rnd transplant it to another area_
m a simple operation that employs
tor the main part, a cutter, a pump
and hundreds of feet of pipe.
The operation is as simple as
it looksr—the only requirement, of
course*, is the know-how. The Man
son-OSJjerg crew have the know
how. Of the 22 men employed
regularly on the project, most of
them have worked on similar har
bor undertakings. From the Super
intendent, Roger Morris and Art
Molvar, dredge Captain, on down,
these men are instantly alert when
something goes wrong, and make
repairs when needed.
You may have wondered what
kind of tool is used that can work
underwater and (pull from the
bottom, sand, gravel, mud and
rocks—material that is used to
build the Southeast breakwater.
At the end of the frame that pro
jects over tRe water from the
dredge is a cutter head with four
knives. As these revolve, the mat
erial is loosened, and directly be
low them, there is an 18 inch suc
tion pipe, which then pulls the
loosened mud, gravel, rock or wha1
have you, on its long journey tc
the other end of the pipe. The
pumps impeller, which is aboul
414 feet in diameter, is capable
of pulling any material, including
seme fair size rocks, and discharg
ing it the full length of the pipe
which averaged in length aboul
665 feet during the month of No
vember.
The operation is controlled by
the leverman, who sits in the pilot
house, much as a motorman on a
trolley car, arid by following the
reading on the various gauges
before him, knows what is happen
ng beneath the surface, Bill Simp
kins was , the lenerman on duty
when I was aboard.
The horn blasts you hear from
time to time, have meaning. The
outside horn indicates “pick up
anchor” when onJ blaikt is |fuftdbd;
two blasts mean to “drop tfte'an
chor.” When the horn is sounded
inside, the leverman indicates by
one blast, he is calling the mate;
2 blasts, the deckhand; 3 blasts,
stop the pump. This usually means
a rock has lodged in the impeller
or the pipe. This must be fished
out, and is a constant source of
work stoppage,, accounting for 36
hours of lost operation time for
the month of November, despite
the fact the shutdowns are of short
duration.
A standby impeller is always on
hand—for this part of the equip
ment receive® brutal treatment.
Kodiak T.V. Repair
T.V. Radio & Marine Electronics
Phone 3831 FCC LICENSED TECHNICIANS
For the Holidays
EGGNOG
Now carried at your favorite store
Kodiak Creamery
See us For
Auto Repair Parts
At Seattle prices
Genuine Chevrolet- Plymouth
Willys Parts
Factory Authorized Service
Goodyear Guaranteed
Tires & Batteries
You Cae?t Do Better
CLARK’S GARAGE
Phone 3444
DODttE - WILLYS - PLYMOUTH
*CjS£.*»3*ss- -4 ....
A 900 horsepower GM diesel is i
the power back of the pump—ab<j <
it is the duty of Floyd Barney, the <
Chief Engineer, to keep it in <
good: running order. From the
sound of it, he does. He also must
keep running, 24 hours a day, the j
BOO h-p generator. The latter sui> '
plies the power Cor the entire op
eration, including the cutter head, j
which operates separately from
the pump engine. His work is div
ersified, and includes welding and i
repairs to other equipment. Under
him is an assistant engineer for ’
each shift.
more more more ■
The “Cub”, a fast moving little '
craft, is an integral part of the ‘
whole operation. Twin-screw, it '
can virtually turn on a dime. It
can be seen day or night, good
weather or bad, as it skims over
the water, and the crew makes re- •
pairs, either on the barge or the 1
pipe line, maneuvers the dredgS
.mo a new <'ositio£i, shortens or i
lengthens the pipeline, and the j
many other chorea that need do
ing. It is the work horse of the
operation, and Art Molvar can
usually be seen aboard, directing
the work.
Aslieu as to the main difficulties
encountered in an operation of
this kind, Art stated unhesitat
ingly ‘“Man”. Most of his crew as
stated have been with the firm for
several years. As one instance of
the value of “know-how’", those
islands you have possibry noticed
at low tide, were caused by a
crewman allowing the discharge
to remain in one place too long—
a practice not long tolerated from
an experienced crew member. Tne
pipe float is held in position by
two anchors and all that’s neces
sary is to adjust them for position
desired.
And now for a word about the
project itself. Dredging is now
complete in the area adjaeent to
Kraft’s store, as the depth dredged
was B feet below mean low low
water, compared to a minimum of
12 over most of the basin. The
work is progressing very rapidly
and it is estimated will be dbout
85 per cent completed by Decem
ber 21.
The operation will shut; down
on that date for the Christmas
holidays, and will resume January
6. Manson-Osberg has generously
furnished a return ticket, to crew
members who want to be home for
holidays. A standby crew will re
main here during that time.
Next weeks article will furnish
add enjoyment
to fu programs
Aleutian
Distributors
Phone 2244
ewc'
MILLER BREWING CO
MILWAUKEE, WIS
information on the project specifi
latiohs,* more on the dredging opr
•ration, and the men who run the
tquipment.
Airlines Agent: On
Air Hop Of Europe
An Airlines agent who has book
ed passage for thousands of people
;o various parts of the world, this
veek began a trip that will take
lim to eleven European countries,
■is well as the West and East
:oasts of the United States. Ray
Martin, Pacific Northern Airlines
3 gent here, left Wednesday on the
'irst leg of his proposed trip.
The trip is the result of a con
;est Ray entered. The Sebina Air
ines of Belgium ran a contest en
titled “Thanks to the Memories”
nd his entry entitled “Getting
Passengers On The High Seas ' won
or him the trip. “It took n».; i avc
hours to write it/*" Martin stated.
Ray will first go to Lbs Angeles,
where he will be joined by his
daughter, Marilyn and son, Ray.
The trio will then go to New York,
where they Will fpena several
days. They will then fly to Bel
gium, where he and his daughter
will be guests of the sponsoring
Airlines. Ray, Jr. will accompany
them on the remainder of the
tour, in which they will visit
eleven, different countries—Hol
land, France, England, Scotland,
Ireland, Germany Switzerland,
Italy, Norway, Sweden and Den
mark. They will cover as many
points of interest as time will al
low.
Martin states that each of them
will be taking pictures along the
way, including both movie and 35
mm. The trip, he thought, would
taxe about six weeks.
The story that won for him the
..rip concerns one of his many ex
periences as agent for Pacific
Northern Airlines.
I
Soft Drinks and Mixers
7oz., 12 oz. and 28 oz.
You Get On The Phone;
We'll Get On The Ball
Kodiak Bottling Works
Phone 2244
The Community Baptist Church
“The Big White Church on the Hill”
Rev. John Molletti, Pastor
Sunday School —9:45 a.m.
Morning Worship —11:00 a.m.
Youth Fellowship Groups —6:30 p.m.
Evening Worship—7:30 p.m.
Mid Week Service —?:30 Pm* Wednesday
“Holding Forth The Word Of Life” r
For All Your
WELDING NEEDS
ti/ * ... •
\ ' ' mrfJ
Or Problems
PHONE -2151
KODIAK WELDING WORKS
Alaska Transfer & Storage
AGENT FOR
Martin Van Lines
We handle Packing, Crating and Shipping
from Kodiak to all Alaskan points, United
States, Hawaii and Germany.
Phone 2233
n
school
ages.
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