PT 728 Touring the East Coast
Here I am 'on patrol' for that pesky Jet-ski!!
The quarters below are 4 basic compartments. The forward berth, here, is the Skippers, with what looks like an access door to the forecastle.
Going aft is crew berthing, galley & head in one area. This is still in the vee bow area, double bunk on top with single bunk below, 6 total counting port & stbd. Notice diagonal planking sides, and steel brackets in the overhead.
Next area aft is electrical & machinery spaces, with fuel on the outboard sides, and a couple more bunks. No pic of this area due to ongoing restoration.
Aft compartment is engine spaces. A pair of 8V-71 Detroits. There are 4 engine stringers in the bilge. The original setup was triple screws with v-drives outboard and inline engine in center, thus all 3 engines sharing the center stringers.
Starboard side gussets in engine bay. Frames are on about 11" centers throughout the hull. These gussets are about 2' on the sides and 3' on the deck. The story has it that there is about half a million screws in the hull, that is a lot of diagonal planks to fit.
Chine gussets are about 2' x 3'.
Port engine.
The tall hatch beside the helm goes down to the galley/berthing. The smaller hatch near in the pic can access the machinery space that is under restoration. There was no armor plating on these boats, not even the turrets. The guns and torpedoes are mockups here (no doubt due to BATF regs), but the turrets are believed to be accurate in that they are wood/fiberglass.
This is a most thrilling boat ride, especially for anyone interested in wooden boats. This is a classic. The crew is friendly and informative. I was informed that she will tour again going south back to Key West after the Kingston wooden boat show in NY. I highly recommend this to anyone.
Be sure to see more at their website:
http://www.pt728.com
Our intrepid correspondent will be reporting on other things nautical over the next few months. Stay tuned for "The Falls of Clyde" in the next WebLetter.
