Double piercing – more bowthruster installation

So here is the first tunnel cut flush to the hull.

And here is what it looks like inside the forward tank looking down through the manhole. Everything looks to be lined up and square with the internal frames.

Now to start the next one. This one has to be a minimum of 14″ forward from the first. As it is Sunday, the yard is pretty quiet and I will have full use of the yard’s forklift all day which will make this one much easier than the first.

My camera battery died at this point, but I was able to cut the new one flush to the hull and get both tunnels removed from the hull and up on deck to my workbench. Next is to cut the elliptical flanges that get welded to the hull and cut and drill the tubes for the bronze saddles that hold the bow thrusters. I will have to sandblast and Dimetcote the outside of the tunnels before they get reinstalled in the hull. The inside of the tubes will be blasted and coated when we do the final blast of the entire hull.

So I have gotten a few emails about the historical significance of the tug and why I am I then putting bow thrusters in her. They certainly did not have bowthrusters in 1887. That is a good and valid point. But I figure that they will never been seen from the outside of the boat, as they will be underwater and the space in the forward tank will not open to the public, so they will be entirely hidden. They certainly will allow me to dock and undock the tug much easier and more safely, given that this is a single screw vessel. I really want to take this boat out on the water and use her rather than have her be a static dockside display.