We are going to drive the vessel around to the port of Station Manistee from Port Clinton Ohio during the month of April where she will be reconditioned, repainted, and a whole lot of TLC and make this a workable Rescue Facility again. The Flotilla's of 09W-20-08 Manistee and 09W-20-06 Ludington are working together to restore this vessel.

We are all looking forward to the day when it's done and ready to go. We have allot to do and so little time in which to do it. The budget is set and the plan is simple. The mechanical condition of this vessel is wonderful. It just needs paint and electronics, and some extra parts.

We hope to have it ready to go by Memorial Day. That's the plan. I will keep you posted.

4/25/08 Left Manistee Michigan 3am for Port Clinton Ohio. Arrived 09:30hrs Port Clinton, and loaded Boat and left at 10:00hrs for Belle Isle Michigan. Nice Weather sunny 75* arrived Station Belle Isle 18:20hrs.

4/26/08 Left Station Belle Isle 08:00hrs for Station Port Huron. Arrived Port Huron 15:45hrs. Station Port Huron being dredged, forced to park at the Black River Marina behind the Station Boats. Had to sleep on the boat, not fun, music all night until 02:00hrs....

4/27/08 Left Black River Marina 04:00hrs for St Ignace. We  made Port of Call at Harrisville at 1840hrs, forced off the water by 5-7 footers & windy snowy rainy weather. Weather forecast was for 1/2 foot wind out of the west. It went northeast at 25mph with gusts to 35mph and freezing rain.

4/28/08 We stayed in Port all day for rest & relaxation. Wind still 25+ out of the northeast.

4/29/08 Left Harrisville this morning, good weather at 09:00hrs, estimated arrival is 22:25 port of call  St. Ignace. Wind finally changed to the west great ride.

4/30/08 0630 Hrs Left St Ignace, weather report is good, ride should be fair. Weather service called for 1/2 foot winds out of the north east. The weather service was wrong again, 25mph out of the south west, 7/10 foot waves forced us into North Port at 17:50 hrs to wait for a wind shift. 18:55 hrs finally it shifted and we went for it all night.

5/01/08 06:45 Hrs We are finally home, Port of Manistee, Total ride time is 65 hours, 493 nautical miles. Averaged only 4.7 gal per hr fuel burn at 1500 rpm at 8 knot average. The Boat ran great, small problems, but able to fix most stuff along the way. She did what she was designed to due. Take you out and bring you back.

5/2/08 09:00 hrs Television crews, and newspapers getting interviews and pictures for the news on the story and the adventure that we had.

5/10/08 Started ripping and removing junk and wiring. Cleaned the engine room with a power washer. I will need to do that a couple of more times before hand wiping it down. Filled a 3 yd dumpster with junk from the boat. Noticed the Brass Bell missing. Another piece of history gone. Pictures confirm it is still in Ohio, I have pictures of it the week before, and then the day we left it's missing. 

5/17/08 Installed Wiring, air horns, painted floors in the boat. Cleaned floor mats and removed oily bilge water. Starting sanding outside rough spots for exterior paint to go on.

5/24-5/25/08 We will be at Station Manistee open house. Tours and Questions will be the standard for the two days. I will be still wiring, and painting, and the finished product, a new chart table will be installed. Next week she's coming out to fix and paint the outside.

5/24-5/25 We worked approx 25 hours rewiring the boat. 41years of to many cooks, the 24 volt and the 12 volt system. Painted doors installed the chart table, and spent Sunday cleaning up, four more bags of trash removed. Worked the Open House at Station Manistee with a great turn out. Fun was had by all. The helicopter operations and the Rescue swimmer really put on a great show for all of the people lining the shore. Have made plans for 5/29 the boat hits dry dock and the conversion begins.

5/28 Vessel moved to Seng's Marina to pull the next day. 5/29 Vessel on dry land. Started work on hull with grinding and getting ready to paint. Discovered that hull to rusted to make a dent in rust, need sandblaster. Hired sandblaster he arrived 6/2 started work. Seng's Marina decided that they wanted him gone....prior problems, and so he left with half the hull blasted. In process of hiring another blaster awaiting cost estimate....Oh and half of the hull was primed ready to paint. Maybe we can paint the other half and get some real paint on this weekend. All of these fun problems will work out....I hope...the 4th of July is coming fast.

6/6 She is finally all blasted, and the primer is going to start going on. Only cost twice as much to blast the final half of the boat.

6/7 Started painting the first coat of primer. 85-90 hot muggy, nasty. Sun is killing us, but she is getting painted. Ran out of white primer, but the hard stuff and the bare metal has primer on all of the boat. It's going to rain on Sunday...finished painting at 7pm...nice long shower, nice dinner, adult drinks, lots of sleep....Next week going to build a a-frame for the tow rope. Going to use the tow reel from the bow anchor locker and mount it near the tow bit on the stern of the vessel were it belongs.

6/19 Started really painting allot, and managed to go thru over $2000.00 dollars worth of paint in one day. 7am to 9:15pm no stopping. 4 people, 20+ rollers, 20+ paint brushes, 30 paint trays, 100's of yards of blue tape....ahhhhhhh. This paint will never come off my hands or out of my hair.

6/20 Second finish coat on most items, and most of the top in primer. Drove to Pentwater and other points north to get more paint. Ran out of paint finally...ran out of time 7am to 7pm..ran out of steam. A job well done by the crew.

6/21 Tried to fine more paint on a weekend, no luck be here Tuesday. Found some more primer in quarts and finished the topside primer. Noticed the anchor was painted black and decided to touch it up. Discovered it was originally white, so we are sanding it down and making it white again. We ran out of paint again and I sent the crew home to rest and forget the boat until Tuesday.

6/22 I painted the chevrons on the vessel, and applied most of the stickers on the vessel. Washed off the helm area and cleaned out the water in the main galley. Fixed the antenna and changed the bulbs in the mast. Cleaned up the area and got ready for the final push! The tow reel and the battle lanterns finally made it. All of the pieces are falling into place. It took 3 people 3 hours to put on 30 foot of new bumpers. Only 75 feet to go....  We will finish the painting on Thursday this week. We also fixed the real seal on the port engine. It's finally all coming together. Have made plans to re-launch the vessel on Monday July the 1st, and we will be ready!

6/25  7:30am We are painting and expect by tomorrow to be done! What a relief, and a great thought...all done!

6/27 Rub Rails finished! Painting almost done...touching up forever all of the spots. Scraping off the white splatter with a razor blade. Rigging up the safety life lines on the side of the boat. Working up the first of many punch lists to finish the girl up.

6/28 Painting all done. Touch up is all that's left. Cleaning up the site and picking up the mess after 28 day's on dry land she is ready to splash back into the water and résumé her life's chosen duty, saving lives, protecting property, and providing a safe platform for all that sail with her. The old saying the Coast Guard use to have was "You have to go out, You don't have to come back", don't hold true with this vessel. "She will take you there, and bring you back!" That is her legacy...

6/30 She is going back in the water!

7/3 Manistee fireworks, 7 people on board...fun time easy night. Boat looks great, and ran perfect.

7/4 Ludington fireworks, 7 more helpers and plenty of fun and fireworks. The station in the briefing made the comment that all we had to do was turn the boat sideways and we could block the channel by ourselves. Went off with out a hitch and it took us 2 1/2 hours to make the trip fro Manistee to Ludington...

7/26 Left Manistee at 22:00 hrs for Grand Haven Michigan for the Parade of Ships being put on by the Coast Guard. It was going to be a once in a life time show to have two running Aux 44'MLB vessels in the show. We ran into Mother Nature...the weather service who doesn't have one window, or any idea what they are doing tell us winds out of the north 5-10 mph and less then 1 foot seas.. well straight west at 24 knots made for a nasty a beam ride. At 0300 we decided to bag it and wait for daylight and a change. We made a port turn and headed for Pentwater about half way to Grand Haven. We were doing about 8 knot before the turn and once the turn was made she surfed to 11.5 allot all the way into the opening at Pentwater. We lashed her to a dock and went to bed...

7/27 Left Pentwater at 08:30 and got beat up by waves until Muskegon. Not bad but still tiring. Arrived at 13:00 and tied up to the boat lift well. Had a shower, got some food and went to bed by 21:00...slept all night. Nice cool night, wonderful shower, great food!

7/28 all of the boats from the Aux showed up and the telling of lies, and swapping of jokes begins. The trading of secrets and paint brands makes my job allot easier. Ken Bennett who was on the Gold Side now the Aux side driving the MLB 44359 gave allot of praise and suggestions to us on our vessel. Thanks Ken, Joe, and the crew, Division Captain, for all of the support, help and for a wonderful time. We got the photo's and the adventure is truly beginning for the 44334 MLB. It was a great ride 182nm total, 22.7 hrs worth of fun and pleasure. On the way home the 30' MLB 304445 from Muskegon stopped us. Wasn't sure if we were going to jail or what...turns out they need to finish there end of the month quals and needed to tow a big vessel. So sure we let them and laughed all the way home...We got near Ludington and heard on the radio some of our Ludington Aux having fun with the 30'mlb. So we were approximately  2 miles off shore near the power station clay banks and they decided to come out and play.  Well the station called and had us divert toward the clay banks to see if we could spot a drifting jet ski. We looked they looked nothing. We started heading back north again to get home, and the 30' mlb was coming hard to catch up and they got called to the south on some secret squirrel stuff and had to break off and run south.... Made contact with Rich Voss and Donna driving the Aux vessel Walleye, swapped lies told stories laughed and left north bound. Made Manistee at 23:17pm went to bed. It's funny, but everything has a reason, and a purpose. One door opens another one closes. People helping people any division is what the Auxiliary is all about.

8/2 Changed Oil, cleaned bilge, cleaned boat. Made estimates for dual battery setup. Will finish up setup either 8/7 or 8/8.

8/8 Dual Battery setup fighting us all the way. Have to figure out another way to make this work. Old panel won't accept our ideas. Got underway for towing drills with the 47 boat from the station. Weather was starting to kick up a bit, made for some sideways rolls. There were two people working on there quals and one on his check ride. The 47 & 44 came together while in side tow and made a little mess on both vessels.

8/9 Repaired the 44 today and got underway and recovered a 38' vessel that had run out of fuel. We towed him to a calm area and put him in a side tow. 15 min tow and he was safely moored at the city marina. Filled out the paper work and continued on our way. Went over the tow in the debriefing and made note of all of the things we did right, and wrong. Practice is always a good thing, makes the real tows easier, and safer.

8/10 Got underway with the second boat crew and practiced towing and pump drills. Filled the girl up with fuel and cleaned her up and put her to bed. Made a list of things to do next weekend. Had meeting with senior chief an a schedule was put in motion for the rest of the year for training.

8/16 8/17 No report, no crew.

8/24 Painted the decks and she looks sharp. Ran out of paint with a 2-foot square to go.....arrrr... Most of the deck needs another coat anyway. So it's off to Ace to get another gallon.. Labor day weekend coming and summer is leaving.... stormy weather is just around the corner...

8/25 8/26 8/27 No report, no crew.

8/30/08 The family and I have decided to go to Portage Lake Inn for dinner.

9/13 9/14 No report, no crew.

9/20 9/21 No report, no crew.

9/27 9 am she is on the ground for the winter. Winterized the engines & the boat. All strainers petcocks, pumps open and drained or filled with antifreeze. All radio's, tools, important equipment removed.

11/7/08 She is covered for winter.

05/15/09 We touch up paint, and get her ready for next weekend launch.

05/22/09 It's launch day and she is ready to move. She was launched on a sunny day and warm, my daughter Sara, went for a ride down the river.

05/23/09 Cleaning, painting, getting her ready. Shinning the brass, making sure equipment is ready, and restocked. Allot of work to do, and not enough time. She is docked on the Manistee River this year because the other harbor wanted more money for the same water to park on. Oh well a 3 min more drive same water, and great people next to me....

5/30/09 Painted front bunk area. No report, no crew.

6/6/09 Painted rear vomit closet area. No report, no crew.

6/13/09 Cleaned bilge area, put pans under engine. Installed bilge pump and filter to stop oil from going overboard. No report, no crew.

6/27/09 Painted front, main and rear cabin floors. No report, no crew.

7/3/09 No report, no crew.

7/04/09 No report, no crew.

7/05/09 No report, no crew.

7/11-12/09 No report, no crew.

7/18-19/09 No report, no crew.

7/25-26/09 No report, no crew.

8/1-2/09 Went for boat ride with family. Clean out front lockers, replaced all batteries on engines. No report, no crew.

8/12/09 Moving boat to Bay City MI. Left 05:57 calm seas south wind  85* and arrived in Charlevoix MI at 19:28. We are greeted by the 25' Coast Guard boat and they toured our boat.

8/13/09 Left Charlevoix MI at 05:58 calm seas south wind 75* arrived in Presque Isle MI at 20:15.

8/14/09 Left Presque Isle MI at 05:59 calm seas wind south 75* arrived at Tawas MI at 16:30. We are greeted by the 47' Coast Guard boat and they toured our boat.

8/15/09 Left Tawas MI and arrived Bay City MI at 12:30 in calm seas sunny 85* weather. Were meet by station and Auxiliary members from 15-01 Ninth Central Region. Tours hand shakes, pictures, stories were told by all. Off loading boat and personal clothing, she is now in good hands.

8/16/09 Cleaning of boat by Auxiliary members 15-01 has started. I returned to Manistee MI to pick up paint and other items left behind for the trip. Have made lists of items that need to be repaired or replaced before the weekend, will address items, oil, filters and replace before next weekend.

8/18/09 More cleaning, mucking the bilge, picking up items, making lists of things needed. Picking up more life vests.

8/19/09 Making arrangements for this fall of storage. Finding a slip for next year. Lots of open slips.

8/22/09 Moved boat to Bay Harbor Marina. Finished cleaning the boat, made preparations for the boat to get underway. Set dock lines and started to fix small areas of paint problems. The marina has a ships store with snacks, ice, etc. and they also have a pool, great for the kids. Bathrooms and showers are really clean and nice. The personal at the marina are real nice and want to work with us and are glad we are here. Sounds like a beginning of a great relationship.

8/23/09 Started work in the morning, checking fluids and making sure all equipment was in working order. 11:45 we left the dock with 5 pob for a shake down cruise. Gave them all a taste of what is about and what is coming. Practiced with the MOB drills, and even set up the P5 pump and moved water from one side of the boat to the other. Smiles and pride were the practice of the day. Just getting out on the water was all I cared about. Personal are starting to figure out that, "hey there is allot to this program", and it's fun! Returned to the dock at 16:30 and smiles, helping hands, and hand shakes all around. It's an eager crew willing to learn, eager to share, and best of all have fun. Can hardly wait until next time when it begins to count and the people can be served.

8/29/09 Well after 44 years of the heaters not working I have figured them out. Who ever designed this wasn't a plumber. I have the parts coming and have hot water from the engine flowing. Repaired some wiring and straighten up more equipment in the storage lockers.

8/30/09 Crew members met at 13:00 hrs and CPR training, and chart work was the mission of the day. Occasional boaters came by and wanted a tour of the vessel. Information and questions were asked, and answered.

9/12/09 Repaired the small hinge part on the main door. Painted small parts and cleaned up the vessel.

9/13/09 Fueled vessel and went for small boat ride. Had some training in knot tying, and rules of the road.

9/26/09 Last ride of the year. Started taking off items for storage. Went for training and Re-Qual on other AUX members vessels from Saginaw Flotilla. Cold rainy, nasty day. Towing, navigation, safety, all in a days work.

9/27/09 More Qual time, I think I saw some snow.......finished cleaning out the vessel for storage, making notes to winterize.

10/9/09 She is on the ground and done for the year. Very professional crew hoisting the vessel out for the winter in the rain, power washing the bottom and setting the boat before 09:00 hrs. The crew stated that they only had 15 more to do that day. I wished them well and left them to there 38* degree rainy weather and went to work.

10/10/09 Moved more items and did small work for tomorrows winterizing.

10/11/09 Finished out the water draining and winterizing of the vessel. She needs covering and a couple of other house keeping minor items.......next weekend.

Thanks

William Church