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Some nuts are more important than others!
Boone lost rudder at sea
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jan 11, 2007 23:19:41 EST
The rudder fell off a Mayport, Fla.-based frigate while it was on deployment in the western Mediterranean Sea in late November, the Atlantic Fleet Naval Surface Force confirmed Thursday.
The Nov. 30 mishap forced the ship to send out a call for help, said Paul Taylor, a SurfLant spokesman. The Canadian destroyer HMCS Iroquois responded, providing divers who inspected the ships underside. Within 24 hours, the Boone was being towed to Rota, Spain, for repairs by a German replenishment oiler, FGS Spessart, Taylor said.
The ship was not adrift or totally dead in the water because its two 350-horsepower auxiliary propulsion units provided a limited amount of maneuverability, Taylor said.
The lost rudder was replaced Dec. 27 and, after a day of operational testing, Boone got underway again Dec. 28, Taylor said.
The problem was the loss of the securing nut at the end of the ships rudder post, Taylor said. The nut, which holds the rudder on the post, is supposed to be tightened with roughly 3,000 pounds of torque. For reasons unknown, he said, the nut failed or somehow came loose, and the rudder fell off.
The rudder assembly on Boone, which went into service in 1982, was last inspected during a 2000 dry-dock period at a Jacksonville, Fla., commercial repair facility, Taylor said. He said such inspections are typically conducted only when ships are placed in dry dock.
As a result of the mishap, Naval Sea Systems Command and Naval Surface Forces have ordered that all Navy frigates be outfitted with a securing pin at the end of their rudder posts, below the securing nut, so in case this happens again, itll hold in place, Taylor said.
Boone received the modification during its stay in Rota, Taylor said.
The replacement rudder is a story in itself. According to Taylor, the Pearl Harbor, Hawaii-based frigate Crommelin was in dry dock at its home port. Maintenance personnel removed Crommelins rudder and sent it to Rota. Other workers recovered a rudder from an inactive frigate at Bremerton, Wash., to replace Crommelins. The rudder nut threads on Boone were undamaged, Taylor said, making the repair fairly simple.
Taylor noted that the repair process employed for Boone reflected business practices that the Navys coming Class Squadrons will employ and refine. Class Squadrons will be functional commands focused on the training and readiness of specific classes of ships, such as frigates, and will oversee teams of dedicated maintainers for those ships. Implementation teams for the squadrons were launched Oct. 1.
Boone left Mayport on Aug. 2 as a solo deployer with orders to operate with Standing NATO Maritime Group 1, formerly Standing Naval Force Atlantic. The group is a squadron of eight to 10 destroyers and frigates that exercise primarily in the eastern Atlantic, generally taking part in warfare training exercises, according to NATO.
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I'm just glad you're OK. Made me wince there for a second.
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I'll tell you something, I don't remember much about any rudder nut but I DO remember the propellor nuts. I'm going to guess they were roughly 3 feet from flat to flat. Each ship has it's own great big gigantic wrench stowed somewhere just for taking those nuts off and putting them back on. They use a crane to work the wrench.
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is supposed to be tightened with roughly 3,000 pounds of torque.
I wonder if Craftsman has a torque wrench for that?
Brad
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Does Loctite make a product for marine use?
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I say if a man has nuts he should have a wrench to take care of them.
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is supposed to be tightened with roughly 3,000 pounds of torque.
I wonder if Craftsman has a torque wrench for that?
Brad
meh, seen diesel engine flywheels that have to be torqued to over 10,000 lbs.
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Does Loctite make a product for marine use?
Yes, but it's been outsourced to their Japanese subsidiary. It's called Roctite.
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Does Loctite make a product for marine use?
Yes, but it's been outsourced to their Japanese subsidiary. It's called Roctite.
Yep, it's Friday afternoon.
Brad
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since nobody else has mentioned it: Only a group of sailors could loose a big nut in the Med...
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Have turned almost purple after being kicked in sparring but never fell off before.
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For a second there I thought you said you were kicked in THE sparring. I was thinking, "Gee, I never heard it called THAT before."
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since nobody else has mentioned it: Only a group of sailors could loose a big nut in the Med...
Or fail to tie a rope to a boat ...
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Now wait a sec: it was tied to the boat. Just wasn't tied all that well to the pier...
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I distinctly remember seeing you holding a rope while the boat was floating away.
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You can remember whatever you want... *I* remember it being tied to the boat, but not the pier...
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Of course it wasn't tied to the pier, there was no place on the pier to tie it to, and I bet you still can't tie a rope to a cleat NAVY boy.
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I am tempted to post the smiley I have of two little yellow faces sparring, but you guys can be thankful that my host is down for maintenance right now...
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Some nuts are more important than others!
I believe that applies to your jump too bill.
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Yes... I can honestly say that it WOULD apply to the jump there...
And this isn't sparring... this isn't even mild disagreement. You should see us when we get testy with each-other...
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Wait. Hunter Rose is a squid? No wonder he's such a tool.
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Ya know fistful, I was almost starting to not dislike you...
Besides, we all know what a squid is: a fish that craps on Marine life!
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Well, at least you're not a Marine.
Army here.
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Hunter, Fistful, you two will cease fire.
Bill (aka "Hunter Rose," aka "Strings") is a well-respected member of the WI gun community.
With his ponytail, granny glasses, tattoos from his neck down to his ankles, leather skirts, biker vests, and combat boots, he makes the rest of us look like downright normal people.
Fistful, I have no idea what you look like, but I'm guessing you're just a little bit weird yourself.
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But Dick... it was just starting to get fun...
And NONE of my kilts are leather, I have NEVER worn a leather kilt in my life! They're just too darn expensive (at least, the only ones that don't make my butt look big)...
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Yes... I can honestly say that it WOULD apply to the jump there...
And this isn't sparring... this isn't even mild disagreement. You should see us when we get testy with each-other...
How can you get "testy" if you keep losing nuts?
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Chill out, Monkey! Besides, this ponytail revelation just made me lose a little more respect for HR. And I used to like him so much.
And I don't look like a weirdo. I just live like one.