The Drivetrain

Safe/Sea has it's maintenance schedule, much like the Air Force Thunderbirds have theirs. Some, I do myself; for others, I bring in the engine pros. Below, Norm from Mack Boring adjusts the cylinder valves on the Safe/Sea Newport's diesels.

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Last week I got an unexpected invitation to give the new Warwick fire boat a go. I had just finished towing a boat into Apponaug Cove and saw a fountain of water shooting about a hundred feet over Sally Rock, so I went over to take a few pictures.

This picture looks like they are trying to sink a boat but they are actually aiming at a lobster pot a few hundred feet this side of it.

They were out on a few drills in their new Metal Craft FireStorm. The boat has all the toys; GPS, radar, forward and rear cameras, and an IR camera to see thru smoke or fog. They can even see underwater with a Humminbird side scan depth finder. The aft step is at water level to allow for the dive team to deploy, or to retrieve persons from overboard.

East Providence, Providence, and Cranston each have the same boat set up as Warwick. They even have an intercity radio system to allow coordinated effort in the event of a major incident. All the major controls are common as well, which would allow members of any department to operate any of the other department's equipment. All have twin Hamilton Jets driven by diesel engines.

It just so happens that Safe/Sea has operated diesel jet drive boats for many years, so when Warwick was involved in the build of their boat, I received a call from Warwick Fire fighter Pete Sisson. We met at Port Edgewood to look over Cranston's new boat and take her for a spin. We didn't run the fire monitors but pretty much ran everything else. So, when I finally saw the water shooting I was drawn over to it. Then I got a call on the vhf. It was Pete. "Hey want to give the fire pump a try?" He didn't have to ask twice.

I dropped the hook and shut off the running lights. Here's the thing. One of the motors is dedicated to the fire pump, which leaves just one to keep you out of the flames. It's a bit tricky to maneuver, even for a jet drive veteran, so I didn't use up too much of their training time.

These fireboats are a real asset to the Bay. I've seen my share of challenging situations over my six years with Safe/Sea, and feel pretty confident handling most of them, but when there's smoke... and gasoline and... well... ah... let's say I'm glad to see those guys out practicing!

For more info on the Warwick Dive team go to http://www.warwickpd.org/httpdocs/dive.htm.

For more Warwick Fire boat pictures go to http://www.warwickfirefighters.org/index.cfm?dsp=gallery&categoryid=30&section=1&pagenum=127.

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Another maintenance win for the good guys. Once again, an engine room bilge inspection catches a little problem before it became a big one.

We noticed a small amount of black exhaust carbon build-up around the exhaust manifold and valve cover of the Safe/Sea Salvor's starboard engine. Besides making a huge mess, airborne carbon can make its way to the air intake filter and choke the motor, or worse, it can make it past the filter and contaminate the fuel and oil, causing premature engine breakdown.

At right, John from Mack Boring is effecting the repair. I didn't feel confident with doing this job myself, as the torque specs and proper line up of the exhaust port gaskets are critical.

Judging by the picture below, we are pretty sure the alignment of the gaskets from the factory was the cause of the leak. Top gasket, bad. Bottom Gasket, good.

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