.SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS Conservators with the USS Monitor Center at the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, VA, have started weekly drainings of the 90,000-gallon treatment tank that houses Monitor's revolving gun turret. Excavation and treatment will co ntinue, as conservators rem ove and replace
the old rrea rment system, clean the interior and exterior of rhe rurrer, and remove irs interior plating. Behind these interio r plates, the ream is expecting to find m ore arti fac ts associated with life o nboard and the sinki ng of the fa mo us C ivil War ironclad . The ro tatin g gun tu rret was constructed of eight layers of o ne- inch thick wro ught-i ro n pla tes strong en o ugh ro withstand enemy fi re. M useum visito rs can
see Monitor's iconic revo lving gun turret's draining and conservation fro m rhe mass ive viewing platform inside rhe Monitor Center, Monday th ro ugh Friday until 15 July 201 6 (the mrrer is refilled each week over the weekends ro avoid it drying o ut com pletely). Behind-the-scenes tours with the director of the Mo nitor C enter, John V Quarstein, include a chance to go in to the drained rurret. These special to urs are available through 1 July fo r a $ 100 tax-ded uctible contribution with advance reservations (these to u rs are nor suitabl e fo r child ren under the age of 12) . This may be th e lasr rime visito rs are invited behind rhe scenes dur ing turret draining fo r several years. Reserva tio ns can be m ade by contacting H annah Piner at 757 952-0465, or email hpin er@m arin ersmuseum.org. Berween 1998 and 2002, the ship's turret, steam engine, Dahlgren guns, and other artifac ts we re excava ted from th e seafl oor and t ransfe rred to the USS Mo ni tor Center fo r co n serva tion and interpretatio n . (The Ma rin ers' M useum , 100 M useum D rive, Newpo rt News, VA; Ph. 757 5962222; www. m arinersmuseum.o rg)
Progress is being made on the $6.3-million-dollar hull restoration of the 1894 schooner Ernestina-Morrissey. Captain H arold Burnham is the owner's rep resentative fo r th e Massachusetts Dep artment of C onserva tio n and Recreation, the administrator fo r the historic ship. H e is working closely with the Boothbay H arb or Shipyard (Ma ine) president, Eric G raves, and p roject m an age r, D avid Short, to ensure the hull m eets US Coast G ua rd requirements fo r Ocean Cerrificario n so that the ship can resume seagoing educatio nal programming. The schooner has been co mpletely dism antled, and rhe shipyard crew has started to reassemble the ste rn structure. The rudder pos t and stern p os t of D anish oak are in place on the n ew keel, and the transom framing is going up . H ere, D av id Sho rt and his crew lifr rhe afc- most starboard fram e into place. Live oak from
Schooner Ernestina-Morri ssey Geo rgia is used fo r the fur tocks char h ave m o re curve and need strength; t h e rest of the fur tocks are m ade from Danish oak. Th e futtocks are fas tened with rr unnels to form the fram e; the timbers are fas tened w ith silico n-bronze bolts. No tice the m ortises ready to accept the rest of rhe fram es. (For photographs of thi s work and info rmati o n on how you can help, visit www. ernesti na.org.) ..• "Boaty McBoatface" is out as a contender for the name of the UK's newest polar research vessel; RRS Sir DavidAttenborough is in. T h e Natural E n vironm ent Research Co un cil (NERC), which is building the vessel, go t into a public relations snafu wh e n it anno un ced in M arch that the public was invited to suggest names fo r the n ew ship. A Bri tish radio personality jokin gly suggested "Boary M cBoatface," whic h imm edia tely took off as a runaway favo rite 48
SEA HISTORY 155, SUM MER2016