April 30th Work Progress Photos Page 1 of 3

I was onboard doing volunteer work on April 30th and, as promised, on these three pages are about 4 dozen photos showing some of the progress being made towards getting Big J ready for her grand opening.  My trip to Camden took 2 1/2 hours, and I arrived at 9:00 am.  I was impressed with the organization of the volunteer operation.  Less than 30 minutes after I arrived, I had been signed in, issued a badge, introduced to a Team Leader and put to work!   My job for the morning, along with about 6 others, was removing masking paper from areas of the proposed tour route that had been freshly spray painted over the weekend.  In the afternoon I switched jobs and we applied masking paper to other areas that are scheduled to be painted in the coming days.  Onboard there were volunteers everywhere I went.  They were young, old, sailor, soldier, airman and civilian and everyone had a dedication and enthusiasm that was contagious.  The last time I was onboard the ship was in August and at that time I thought it felt like she was asleep.  Well this time, I boarded a ship that is alive again, humming with activity and on schedule to open in September!  I'll keep my comments short here for now, and close by saying it was a great experience and I encourage anyone that can volunteer for a day or more to do so.  I'm ready to make the trip again, I just wish I didn't live 160 miles away.  Volunteers are even working on Saturdays now, hope to see you onboard one Saturday soon!  Enjoy the photos.

 

Work Photos Page 1 Work Photos Page 2 Work Photos Page 3  

 

April 30th Photo #1

Side view with volunteers working on deck

April 30th Photo #2

Close-up of Pilot House and Bridge area
desperately in need of a fresh coat of paint!

April 30th Photo #3

View of main guns, notice boots in place on all but one gun

April 30th Photo #4

Close-up of Turret #2 and newly installed boots

April 30th Photo #5

View of Turret #3 and cluttered aft deck area

April 30th Photo #6

Old Glory waving proudly from Big J's fantail, an inspiring sight!

April 30th Photo #7

View of 5" Mount on Port Side

April 30th Photo #8

Area masked for painting, I spent much of my day removing paper
from freshly painted spaces like this along the proposed tour route 

April 30th Photo #9

More areas masked and ready for painting

April 30th Photo #10

The trusty Paint Sprayer and buckets

April 30th Photo #11

Supply Room door, if you need it for work, you'll find it here

April 30th Photo #12

View inside the Supply Room, well stocked with the essentials

 

Go to Next Progress Photos Page
 
 

Line Drawing of Big J

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Last updated on January 05, 2004.