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 Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society

Dedicated to Preserving our Shipwrecks and Maritime History
"From Prevention to Preservation"

HomeS.S. Meteor Project 2021


17th Annual S.S. Meteor Preservation Project
Work Weekend



Saturday and Sunday April 24 - 25, 2021

The S.S. Meteor Preservation Project is ON!


Sunrise at the S.S. Meteor
Sunrise on the S.S. Meteor Whaleback Museum Ship in Superior WI
Photo by Nicole M Lind



S.S. Meteor Project
Photo of the 2019 S.S. Meteor Preservation Project Work Weekend Volunteers

To learn more about the Project Work Weekend, please click on this Link.

S.S. Meteor Event Page

2021 S.S. Meter Project Task List

You can also go to the event page through the "Event Calendar" and "2021 "2021 Project Schedule"

If Interested in joining us for the work weekend, please "Register" for the Project to seal your spot.

By order of the State of Wisconsin, we still need to practice Social Distancing and wear masks

We hope to see you at the Work Weekend!!





Closing Report


S.S. Meteor Project 2021 Photos



The 2021 S.S. Meteor Preservation Project Work Weekend was back in business again from the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020.  The work weekend was a great success considering the pandemic is still lingering and because it still is, we had less people joining us for the project. 

The good thing is that most that joined us for the weekend were true diehards of Meteor and have a passion that doesn't allow them to quit.  We only had 26 people join us for the project this year.  We still completed 52 out of 80 tasks.  That's quite an accomplishment for only half of the normal amount of 55 to 60 we typically have join us.  Thank you to those that were able to take the time out o f their busy schedules to help preserve this very valuable piece of history!

We actually have a few of the more passionate friends of the Meteor start the project on Thursday afternoon.  They continued with there tasks until Sunday at about 6 PM.  That is true dedication.  One example is Rick Schimdt.  He cam up on Thursday and started giving to ole girl a bath by pressure washing the entire ship by himself.  Through rain or shine, he was blasting away the whole time.  He didn't quit until 6 PM Sunday evening.  That is total dedication!!  Thank you Rick Schmidt!  Rick is a GLSPS Helmsman Member of the GLSPS.  Rick has been on this project for many years.  We would like to thank Rick for his long time commitment to the S.S. Meteor Project and all the tasks to help preserve the Meteor.

Another volunteer or should I say volunteers are Kari and Craig David.  Both of them and their Son Gunner have been on this project since 2008. They too arrive earlier for the work weekend and are totally dedicated to the project as well.  If there was any welding to do on the project, most likely is was  performed by Craig David.  If there was a huge painting job to be done, most likely Craig's wife Kari was involved.  Thank you to the David family for their passion and total dedication to help preserve the S.S. Meteor.

This year's project was a bit different than other projects because as you all know, we still have lingering affects from the 2020 pandemic and the nation is still not back to normal or full capacity yet. People are being vaccinated and it will take some time for that process to be mostly completed.  That said we are not any different than anyone else as we didn't have the full amount of people joining us like we are typically used to.

Because of the lack of people this year we created a 2021 S.S. Meteor Priority Tasks List.  We had about eighty tasks listed.

During the Project Work Weekend the 26 Volunteers helped to go through as many of the 80 tasks we could to preserve the whaleback ship and get her ready for the upcoming season of tours

At the end of the Work Weekend, the volunteers managed to get through 52 tasks out of 80 this year and that is more than half of what we set out to do.

It has been 20 years when the SS Meteor Preservation Project started in 2001 by WUAA and continued in 2005 by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society for it's 17th year, in collaboration with the Superior Public Museums, other organizations around Duluth, Superior and the Great lakes region.  Thank you to the many volunteers that have joined us over the years and those that are still actively part of the project.  With out volunteers like you, the ole girl wouldn't look as good as she does.  There's nothing like the heart and passion of a volunteer!  The S.S. Meteor has definitely been granted a new lease on life!  

Thank you to all that joined us for the 2021 S.S. Meteor Preservation Project Work Weekend.  Your special volunteering efforts make quite a difference in how the old 1896 Whale back ship looks to tourists, Superior Public Museums Staff, Friends of the Meteor and the City of Superior, (which owns the Museum). 

The items we completed are listed below.


2021 Priority Tasks

 

  1. Ramp/Walkway:
    1. Replace only boards that are rotting.  Done.
    2. Paint to preserve what we replaced. Done.
    3. Put netting/mesh up the walkway for safety.  Done.
    4. Discuss further a metal ramp for the future.  TBD

       

  2. Pigeon / Bird Control:
    1. Fill in areas where pigeons still get in with foam (see Rick Schmidt and Dean Soderbeck.)
  3. Cleaning and Preparation for Season of Tours:
    1. Clean staff office and area. Done.
    2. Clean exhibit areas – sweep, dust, vacuum. Done.
    3. Clean exhibit glass inside and out. Done.
    4. Clean glass on all port holes and other windows.  Done.
    5. Vacuum all areas that need it.  Done.
    6. Clean up paint drippings as much as possible (always be careful when painting!).
    7. Make all beds and install linens (see Megan about other options with no mattresses available).  Done.
    8. Put out props.  Done.
    9. Put out Covid cleaning stations with hand sanitizers, masks and wipes.  Done.
    10. Cleaned out two displays on starboard side with artifacts that are going to another museum.  Done.

     

  4. Welding:
    1. Patch lots of small holes.  2022
    2. Forward cargo hold.  More welding on the top. 2022
    3. Pilot house roof – need plate(s) welded in where it is rusted out.  2022
    4. Seal, primer and paint that area around the whole perimeter of the roof.  2022
    5. Weld small plate in rust hole in ceiling of aft turret. 2022
    6. Weld two holes in same area of turret.  2022
    7. Start welding in new plates under aft crew quarters as there is rust starting through the floor. 2022
    8. Extract seized bolts (with wing nuts) on dumb waiter square cover. Heat up and try to remove old wing nuts or replace with new bolts?  Done.
    9. Complete forward turret roof – weld completely shut. Done.

       

  5. Dumb Waiter Shaft Square Cover on Aft Deck & Smoke Stack
    1.  Remove and reseal after seized bolts are removed (a trip to Menards may be required).  Done.
    2. Finish netting around the bottom of the smokestack.  Done.

     

     

  6. Pressure Washing:
    1. All aft vents painted red to remove peeling paint (that haven’t been painted previously).  Done.
    2. Entire hull – bird poop and other debris.  Done.
    3. Pilot house/chart room roof.  Done.
    4. Aft deck if we are painting it.  Done.

       

  7. Air Vents Aft (Red Inside):
    1. Pressure wash.  Done.
    2. Scrape. 2022
    3. Clean. 2022
    4. Reseal.  2022
    5. Primer and paint Gray color. Please Note:  remove red paint from hood scoop vents galvanized inside.  Research first 2022

     

  8. Paint All Stanchions/Pipes on Starboard Aft Deck (butterscotch yellow)
    1. Scrape.  Done.
    2. Clean.  Done.
    3. Prime.  Done.
    4. Paint.  Done.

     

  9. Re-do Snow Fence Covering Over Lifeboats:
    1. Port side lifeboat fencing was cut open!!  Done.
    2. Replacement of orange snow fence may need to be done only on port side lifeboat.  Done.
    3. Starboard side lifeboat needs resealing to keep birds out!  Done.

       

  10. 4 Pipes Under Water Tanks - On aft deck that are allowing water to get in the ship. 
    1. Clean.  2022.
    2. Caulked.  2022.
    3. Prime.  2022.
    4. Paint.  2022.

       

  11. Pilot House/Chart Room:
    1. Repaint portside “Meteor” Sign on top of pilot house. (Dale Koziol brought home to his wood shop complete it).  Done.
    2. Discuss and assess pilot house/chart room water leakage.  Discussed.  2022.
    3. Weld roof – see above.  Done.
    4. Re-seal with special roofing sealer.  2022.
    5. Paint radar mast – before roof is sealed and painted.  2022.
    6. Repair rotten floor below chart room outside door. 2022.
    7. Scrape, prime and paint both chart room and pilot house (green historical color). 2022.
    8. Polish all brass.  Done.
    9. Paint entire aft deck – This is a task for later Sunday or another weekend during the summer. Further discussion is needed as to when this can be performed. Summer 2021?

       

    10. SS Meteor Documentary  Shoot little snippets of video to show at UWS
    11. Whaleback historical videos and presentations 
    12. Underwater videos of sunken whaleback ships - In media room.
  12. Captain Quarters:
    1. Remove old mattresses that are stored in the room(s). Keep 1 for archival purposes (Megan will approve) that will be stored at Fairlawn Mansion. 1 can be places in dumpster. The rest will be delivered to A-1 Roll Off Saturday morning before 12pm.  Done.
    2. Clean quarters thoroughly.  Done.
    3. Measure brown cushions in quarters for protective covers. Summer of 2021 or 2022.

       

  13. Crews Quarters
    1. 3rd Mates Room - finish with port hole metal surrounding bondo, sand, primer and paint.  Done.
    2. 1st and 2nd Mate Room – both need old concrete removed and new concrete poured into the floor of these two rooms. (See Dean Soderbeck, he needs help with this task)!  Done.
    3. Concrete chipped out and removed from aft turret stairway. Moisture is collecting under it and saturating it and then expanding causing water damage and rust.  Done.
    4. Galley stove vent hood – scrape, clean, prime and paint entire hood. Also, make sure to scrape paint off the window glass used for lighting. 2022.
    5. Mess Hall – clean up rust spots on wall with terry cloth first. If it doesn’t work, then sand, prime and add a coat of white paint.  2022.
    6. Re-hang bulletin board on mess hall wall, Summer of 2021.
    7. Guest room aft crew’s quarters “Guest Room” (Dean S. Room) – finish, clean, prime and paint floor. 2022.
    8. 12 to 4 room – remove nasty sheet of plywood behind bed, Done.
    9. Scrape, clean, prime and paint area around the bed.  2022.
    10. 8-12 Room – scrape, sand, clean, prime and paint entire room.  Done.
    11. Scrape, clean, prime and paint grocery hatch in crew’s quarters hallway. 2022.
    12. Clean, scrape and paint mess hall floor tile red. Possibly officers mess as well.  Make signs and gather rope to seal off the area after painting – Please Note: this will need to be performed later on Sunday!  2022.

       

       

       

       

  14. Engine Room and Area
    1. Make sure all oil is soaked up with oil absorbent pads and dispose of properly.  Done.
    2. Make sure water is drained from bilge with supplied bilge/sump pumps.  Done.
    3. Re-seal cover on vent pipe/post on starboard side mid deck by rear bollards.  It may be causing water to leak in food storage shelving area (red shelves).  2022.
    4. Check both starboard vent (by bench in main engine deck) and port vents for water leakage. The water coming down them may just be condensation.  2022.**
    5. A thorough cleaning and vacuuming of the main deck of engine room.  Done.
    6. Please Note: ceiling of upper engine room is forming some surface rust again.  A painting project for 2022?
    7. Paint top of metal bench on starboard side (gray).  Done.
    8. Paint telegraph post – (use same green color as engine).  Done.
    9. Paint Bench Grinder post – (use same green color as engine).  Done.
    10. Install original barrier behind large main fuse panel to keep small kids/people out from going behind it. 2022.
    11. Remove or cover old oil barrel in lower engine room.  Done.
    12. Remove as much debris in lower engine room and crankshaft areas. Seems to be a lot of debris from previous work weekends.  Done.
    13. Polish all brass in engine room.
    14. Install mounting bracket for controller - Attach to bulkhead
    15.  Install motor controller for Steam engine
    16. Install new electric motor to run Steam engine.
  15.  Exhibit Area:
    1. Prepare, prime and paint all red railings inside ship that are used on tour. Railing paint was damaged by using required sanitation cleaning methods on them.  2022.
    2. Large public head/restroom by engine room – base board removal and install some other means of a baseboard. Vinyl?  2022.
    3. Remove rope ladder from exhibit area – kids are climbing on it and it is becoming a possible hazard where someone (kids) can be hurt climbing on it.  Done.
    4. Paint exhibit area ceiling on starboard side that hasn’t had primer on it.  2022.
    5. Paint final white coat on ceiling on port side in exhibit area.  2022.

       

  16. Misc. Tasks:

    2. Media Room Proposed – Has been discussed and plans are being and to create the room (Theater).
      1. Start cleanup discussion on what will need to be done to create a media room
      2. What artifacts will remain and what needs to be removed. 
      3. A discussion will need to be started as to what is needed for videos.
      4. Proposed videos
      5. S.S. Meteor Documentary Video
      6. Whaleback History videos and Presentations
      7. Underwater Video of other whaleback ships that sunk
      8. Narrated presentations about the 20 plus years that volunteers have helped preserve the S.S. Meteor  Telling the whole story!