Tug Jupiter

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A wonderful way to spend an evening watching fireworks! For our favorite tug boat fans out there, message us to arrange for a complimentary tour of Jupiter before the event on Gazela!

Immerse yourself in a magical night as you witness a dazzling fireworks display from the decks of a historic wooden ship.

Tickets are now on sale and are just $20 for adults and $10 for kids.

Grab this rare opportunity to create unforgettable memories by clicking here, https://buff.ly/3VDoeCb

Just before the Battleship New Jersey returned, some volunteers came by on Wednesday and Thursday got the deck looking spiffy again, and some decorations hung up. Jupiter truly has her dignity back again! Much more is planned, and we are excited to see the next phase of repairs while we continue to sort out the insurance as well.

Come on down for the best seats on the river aboard our PSPG sister, Barkentine Gazela! June 29th!

Prepare for an evening of color and light Saturday, June 29th, with our exclusive Dockside Fireworks Reception aboard historic tall ship, GAZELA!

Adults tickets are $20 and children 14 and under are $10. Click the link below to secure your tickets for an awe-inspiring night!

https://buff.ly/3zeCoCb

As we prepare to welcome Battleship New Jersey back home across the river from us, the moment is bittersweet. Regrettably, we will not be able to get underway to meet and es**rt the Battleship home. This is because we were unable to secure navigation insurance. After so many years out of operating condition, our carrier needs to see a favorable survey in order to issue a quote, and we need to ensure there is money to pay for both the survey and the insurance. We are confident the tug will do well on the survey, but by the time we got this information, it simply proved too high a hurdle to clear.

While missing this opportunity is unfortunate, it does not change the fact that thousands of dollars in donations and many hundreds of volunteer hours have turned the tug back into a vessel that is capable of being operational, and indeed, we believe WILL be underway this year! Not only that, but she stands proud again against the Philadelphia backdrop, and looks like a proper and loved tugboat, and that she is. Make no mistake, there is PLENTY of work to tend to yet, but we are extremely proud of the work done so far, and can't wait to see Jupiter out on the river once again!

Last weekend we managed to button up the temporary deck repairs on the new steel work around the ladder, and get it waterproofed using elastomeric roof coat and canvas. Very similar to the tried and true painted canvas method, but with a rubberized coating. This will do well to keep the water out while we make plans for the full refurbishment of the boat deck, which are expecting to get started on in the fall, following the construction of a marine shrink wrap shelter over the upper portion of the tug to keep her dry while the deck is deconstructed down to the original stuff, and then refurbished correctly. This will involve much wood replacement, including the wood deck beams that rest atop the steel beams, and most likely additional steel work as well, and refurbishment of the entire overhang and handrails. The boat deck will be about 2" lower than it is now when completed, as all the extra layers of plywood and waterproofing get removed for good! That will be the time to tighten up her curves on the overhang as well, removing many pieces of flat wood that were used for patching over the years with properly cut and beaded quality lumber.

We also managed to snag a ~260sf lot of slightly imperfect tongue and groove beadboard that was being culled by a local lumber yard (thank you Rider's Lumber of Philadelphia!) Which will go a long way towards repairing our lifejacket boxes, wheelhouse roof, focsle bulkhead, and overhead trim in the head.

Refrigeration Tech and Equipment needed! We are trying to get Jupiter's built in refrigeration running again. We have a volunteer with automotive AC experience, but not refrigeration that is open to learning if we can't find a specialist willing to help. The condensing unit is gone completely, the line set was left open years ago, and the evap unit is questionable. As we understand, the system had a leak that prevented it from holding a charge for long. At this point, we probably want to replace everything, but we don't know where to start. The condensing unit location is changing, so the line set will be shorter, and it's also going to run on AC instead of DC as it had previously.

Someone who is willing to volunteer and take over would be preferred. We are also looking for an equipment donation or deal if possible. Used equipment would be fine!

The fridge comprises only the 2 middle doors in the built in unit. The other 2 are storage only.

Have you been considering volunteering on Tug Jupiter? Tomorrow, Saturday June 1st is shaping up to be a great day to come check us out! First time's free with the old try before you buy offer, after which we ask you to join the Philadelphia Ship Preservation Guild, which opens up Barkentine Gazela to you as well, both at the same location!

Lunch is served aboard Gazela, $4 suggested donation, or you may feel free to bring your own. Refrigeration and a microwave are available on both vessels, as well as potable water. Restroom facilities are on Gazela only at this time.

Last weekend we got all the holes drilled in the steel and got the wood deck beams bolted in. This weekend, we need to get the new deck sheathing cut and installed, the weatherproofing in (elastomeric roof coating and canvas), and hopefully get the new fascia boards installed and start thinking about the handrail renewal. There is also lots of scraping, painting, cleaning, rust busting, plumbing and mechanical work, and other similar jobs, so something for every skill level from zero to pro!

Work day starts ~9am, and goes til ~5pm. People sometimes hang out after the work day to socialize, so feel free to join if it suits you! Parking can be found at the Penns Landing lots, and is $20 per car. As a paid guild member, there is a discount so that parking is $5 *most* of the time. Either parking lot location at Market St or Lombard Circle will get you there following a walk by the river. Any questions, direct message us at any time, and you can also get a direct phone/text number to the volunteer restoration coordinator, Christopher Simmons who will be on site.

Just some night time Tug vibes with a view of the Ben Franklin and a very calm Delaware River out a stbd cabin port hole. So much history in this shot. Good night all. Back to work tomorrow!

Happy Memorial Day weekend from the crew of Tug Jupiter!

HUGE IMPORTANT UPDATE!!! Tug Jupiter is OFFICIALLY in mechanically operational condition again! Have you donated to us in the past several months? If so, you have directly impacted our ability to get the tug operational again. We can't say thank you enough!

As of today, we were able to run all critical equipment including the main engine, and put the boat in gear both forward and reverse; while tied to the dock, but hey, first time in 6 years! The ride was very short unfortunately, only about a foot or so in each direction 🤣 Hot work is still continuing around the ladder area, with deck repairs started, and some fresh paint has been apllied to a section of the ceiling which looks fantastic!

We still have some massive hurdles to get past in order to be able to take Jupiter off the dock again. Primarily, it is down to insurance now, which we already know will be a substantial expense. First, we must get through a survey to even get a quote. 😬

There is no doubt that today marks an extremely big win for Tug Jupiter and the museum ship community at large. We are so grateful to be a part of it and to help save this 122 year old American built treasure.

If you like what you see happening, please consider donating to the cause. We are only successful because of the love you all have shown and continue to show us! Alternatively, come see us in person and join the crew! We've got a paint brush with your name on it!

Whew, what a couple of busy months we have had down on the tug! So busy we've forgotten to post much in the way of updates! Steel work on the boat deck forward of the ladder has been completed, and aft of the ladder is set to begin this weekend.

In parallel with these efforts, the mechanical team has been steadily expanding efforts, and as of last week got most of the required 120vdc equipment online and operational, and ran the main engine prelube system for about 30 minutes before barring the main over a full rotation. Good news is it spun smoothly, and the hope is alive for an smooth transition back to operational status. The new 646 MCM battery cables are in pur possession now, and will be getting installed this Saturday April 27th. If the installation goes well, there is a chance we may be able to start the main the same day! The possibility of hearing that EMD to come back to life has got some of us losing sleep at this point!

In addition, one of our looooong time volunteers managed to find a detroit 2-71 abandoned in a boat yard, and was able yo secure this as a spare generator engine/parts for a whopping $75!! It has already been hauled and is in our possession now as well. We were afraid it may only be a large paperweight, but as it turns pit, this newly acquired engine is not locked up and looks halfway decent under the rocker cover.

We are in need of help with refrigeration, if anyone out there does this sort of work. Had thought we had someone lined up, but good intentions be what they are and all, it's been over a year with no action. We need at minimum a new condensing unit and line set for our fairly tiny built in refrigerator. Good possibility it may require an evaporator as well. I don't know the fullspecs, but can share photos if anyone is serious about helping us get it up and running.

Something is missing from the view today... 🤔

Congratulations to our friends across the river on a successful first leg! We are looking forward to joining you on the way home!

USS New Jersey to leave port for first time in 24 years, big guns will fire salute: 'I love this ship' The USS New Jersey is scheduled to leave port for the first time in 24 years, to undergo maintenance in Philadelphia. Now a floating museum, the battleship will fire its heavy guns on the journey.

WoooW, what an amazing shot of the engine room, complements of Leslie Weitz! Who said girls were only good at welding?! 😍

Another great big thank you to our supporters who have made it possible for us to do the good work on tug Jupiter! Today we hit a milestone, starting number 2 generator for the first time in 4 years. Can't begin to say how good a sound this 2-71 rattling around makes, so have a listen!

Tug Jupiter generator start up 2024

EDIT: Our request has been fulfilled! Thanks everyone!!!

We are in need of a welding rod oven, if anyone has one they don't want! We are working with a certified welder for the work, and to advise on what materials and tools to acquire for the upcoming hot work, and have been advised to get one asap.

Despite the soggy and cold weather, we are still hard at work! One guy is having a cup of tea with John Gerry's mugshot, and we've got work on the main engine water pump happening, and cleaning the various switches and contactors that make things tick. Have you been thinking about stopping down or volunteering? Next Jupiter work day is Feb 24th! You can come "try before you buy" on a volunteer day, and see if you like us or not before joining the guild. 😁

Who do we have out there with hot rivet experience? As we get rolling on repairs around our ladder well, there is a desire to involve rivets either in addition to or in place of welding. There are several spots where new plate is going to be grafted in, and it would be fantastic to put this old girl right in the way she was built. We will be welding in new sections of plate, but would like to rivet the new sections back to angle as original, if we can. Perhaps you've got the tools to donate? We've got willing guinea pigs to handle them!

Tug Jupiter is looking for 50 feet of 646 MCM DLO (diesel locomotive) cable to replace the starter cables for the main engine. If anyone has some of this stuff laying around, we'd be happy to put it to use! Must be able to be shipped to Philadelphia, or picked up in a reasonable time. Got any train buddies? They might have some of this stuff laying around.

Woohoo! Over 50k views on the video Ryan Szimanski did on the tug! 👏👏👏👏👏 We've had donations come in from as far away as Australia. While we're a lot closer than we were, we're still not there! Know any companies who would be interested in a sponsorSHIP that you could make an introduction? We are in need of industrial copper cable, paint, lumber, waterproofing or walkable roofing system for the boat deck, and quite a bit of steel pipe for railing parts. If you know any companies that deal in those materials, and might be interested in donating to a 501(c)3 not for profit, hook us up!

Here's a little peek inside our EMD 12-567 for attention. 😉

Our thanks to Battleship New Jersey and Ryan Szimanski for featuring Jupiter in the most recent You Tube episode. Please give a view, like, and subscribe, as there is a lot to love about their channel for ship enthusiasts.

Our fundraising efforts do continue, but have now been moved to being handled through our website, link in comments!

Onboard Tug Jupiter This episode is about our friend across the river, JUPITER!To support Jupiter:http://tugjupiter.org/To send Ryan a message on Facebook: https://www.facebook....

Does anyone have a line on this style of raised squares deck plate? We understand it's been out of production since the 70s, but surely there must be something somewhere?! Need a few pieces to get the engine room deck and catwalk looking proper again. Diamond plate has been used for repairs over the years, but it's not the same 😭

Together, we did it! We have just been notified that the Board Challenge has been reached! $7,046 has been raised since the Board challenged us with a matching gift pledge of dollar for dollar up to $7,000 just over a month ago. This carries us past our fundraising goal for the year. Thank you to everyone who participated in the Challenge; thank you to the Board members who suggested and ponied up their money; and thank you to those of you who shared the posts to your social media!

Please keep in mind, this fundraiser was in search of funds for the Guild's basic year's operating costs. We are still raising funds to get help Jupiter get underway again.! https://www.facebook.com/donate/1292252804809966/?fundraiser_source=external_url