Robbins Reef Trip Report, Thursday, June 21, 2018

Robbins Reef Trip Report, Thursday, June 21, 2018

Crew:  Megan Beck, Cooper, Stefan Dreisbach-Williams, Eileen Montanez, Annie Rech, Erin Urban

Visitors: Ciro Galeno, Jr., and Mark Weber and Glen Umberger from the New York Landmarks Conservancy

Weather:  Sunny, breezy, 70s

Access:  The Crew left Miller’s at 10 AM on the Nicholas Miller captained by Tony Semple and came back at 4 PM on the Nicholas with Tony again at the helm.  The guests came out on the Nicholas with him at 1:30 PM, and Terry sent the Emily captained by Michael Sabatino to bring them back at 4 PM.

Purpose of the trip:  We wanted to paint the stairwell from Kate’s bedroom to the top, put another coat of primer on the Lantern Gallery, and start on the ladders.  We had to deal with the round window in the stairwell.

Annie working on the ladder.

Task accomplished:  Megan and Stefan dismantled the round window in the stairwell; we have the rim and will ask Caddell Dry Dock to insert glass into it and clean up the rim, the closure and the turnbuckles.  Then they put white primer/paint on the brick, cast iron, and beadboard walls in the next flight of the stairwell, from Kate’s bedroom to the fourth level.  Cooper put another coat on the roof.  Eileen scraped the beadboard walls in the Lantern Gallery.  Annie scraped the ladder outside Mae and Jacob’s rooms.  Erin cut in a second coat on the brick and cast iron walls from the kitchen door surround up to the sitting room and put another coat on the Watch Gallery hatch.  Cooper rehung the door to Jacob’s room.

Eileen shop-vacced the Lantern Gallery, the Watch Gallery, and the stairwell.  We cleaned up rollers and brushes and swept the rooms. 

Mark and Glen from the New York Landmarks Conservancy toured the lighthouse and discussed the options for possible funding.  We offered a professional cleaning of the cellar, which will not be done by volunteers; repair of the Lantern Gallery; and work on the railings, though there are many other options such as repair of the dog door area.

Next steps:  We hope to put the round stairwell window back and work on the round window in Jacob’s room.  We have to put a second coat on the stairwell.  We have to continue to address the Lantern Gallery, as there is no communication from the Coast Guard about assistance.  We must deal with the dog door; it needs to have the dogs repaired and a new threshold and molding around the sides.  We have clean up the round ventilation disks, caulk the beadboard, and paint it.  For now we will caulk the one window up there that is leaking but ultimately we have to remove each window and scrap, epoxy, and paint the surrounds. 

We have to dress the door to Jacob’s room and install antique doorknobs, keyhole covers, mullions, and latches for some of the other doors.  We have to scrape and seal the interior ladders and then paint them. Be great to paint the stairwell steps, step by step.

Robbins Reef Trip Report, Thursday, June 14, 2018

Robbins Reef Trip Report, Thursday, June 14, 2018

Crew:  Megan Beck, Cooper, Tim Pouch, Erin Urban

Weather:  Sunny, exceptionally windy, 70s

Access:  Left Miller’s at 10 AM on the Anthony Miller captained by Marty Plage; back at 4 PM on the Emily Miller with Rob Stumely at the helm.

Purpose of the trip:  We wanted to paint the stairwell from the sitting room to Kate’s bedroom. We decided to prime the Lantern Gallery roof white.  We had to touch up all the rooms which we had re-primed in rusty places, dress more doors with a plane, and continue work on the two hatch covers. 

Task accomplished:  Megan put the white primer/paint on the brick, cast iron, and beadboard walls in the next flight of stairs, from the sitting room up to the equipment room.  Cooper put it on the roof, ten plates of cast iron with 4” sides.  Tim dressed the entry and the closet doors in Mae’s room and the entry door to Jacob’s room, which has to be re-hung because the screws failed.  He removed the hatch cover from the Watch Gallery so we can strip it.  Erin touched up the primed places in the completed rooms; they are now perfect, and put another coat on the Lantern Gallery hatch cover, which we have to reinstall with better screws.

Tim evaluated the threshold and surrounds of the dog door; we have to rebuild them.  He will make drawings.  We cleaned up rollers, brushes, and ourselves as best we could, swept everywhere, and tidied up everywhere, including the Lantern Gallery.  We have to replace the ramboard up there.

Next steps:  Megan is intent on finishing the first coat of primer on the stairwell, and Cooper will put another coat on the roof.  Everything will need at least one more coat.  We have to dress most of the doors that are hung with a plane, and find and install antique doorknobs, keyhole covers, mullions, and latches for some of them.  We will put the hatches back and replace the threshold under the dog door; the door itself has to be removed and repaired because it does not close properly.  We have to paint the Lantern Gallery window surrounds, clean up the round ventilation disks, caulk the beadboard, and paint it.  We have to scrape and seal the interior ladders and then paint them.

Robbins Reef Trip Report, Thursday, June 7, 2018

Robbins Reef Trip Report, Thursday, June 7, 2018

Crew:  Megan Beck, Cooper, David Dallon, Eileen Montanez, Erin Urban

Weather:  Sunny, windy, 60s

Access:  Left Miller’s at 9:45 AM on the Emily Miller captained by Phil Tobin; back at 3:30 PM on the Nicholas with Tony Semple at the helm.

Purpose of the trip:  We wanted to brush, spot prime, and paint the stairwell from the kitchen to the sitting room.  We had to address the Lantern Gallery again, scrape the roof down one more time, and apply sealant.

Ceiling of the lantern gallery after Cooper applied the sealant.

Task accomplished:  After everyone did more sweeping in the stairwell, Megan put primer on the exposed brick, Eileen cut in around the ceiling, and she and David painted the cast-iron wall from the kitchen to the sitting room.  Meg also spot-primed rust-stained places on metal surfaces in all the rooms.

Cooper and Erin scraped the Lantern Gallery roof and were happy to see that the epoxy on the window surrounds was glass-like.  Cooper cleaned up and shop vacced, and after a break, we mixed up sealant, and he applied it to the roof, which has a curved lower shelf.  The hatch cover fell off, and David scraped and painted it.  The hatch goes through the Watch Gallery ceiling. 

Eileen and Megan painted the stairwell walls and ceiling, and when they were almost done David and Cooper helped.  David painted all the places Meg had spot-primed in the rooms.

We re-covered the dog door with plastic; have to build a new threshold, cleaned up rollers, brushes, and ourselves as best we could, swept everywhere and hauled back trash. 

Next steps:  We have to put back the Watch Gallery ceiling hatch and replace the threshold under the dog door up there.  We also have to address the one in the Watch Gallery; we have to remove it, strip it with Peel Away, repair, seal, and varnish it.  We have to prime and then paint the Lantern Gallery window surrounds and roof.

We will continue painting the mighty stairwell.  We have to scrape and seal the interior ladders and then paint them black.

Megan painting the stairwell.

Eileen painting the stairwell.

Robbins Reef Trip Report, Thursday, May 31, 2018

Robbins Reef Trip Report, Thursday, May 31, 2018

Crew:  Megan Beck, David Dallon, Eileen Montanez, Erin Urban

Weather:  Rain, mist, and heavy fog, 60s, windy

Access:  Left Miller’s at 9:30 AM on the Nicolas Miller captained by Rob Stumley; back at 3:30 PM on the Nicolas with Rob at the helm.

Purpose of the trip:  We had to finish scraping and priming the stairwell ceiling.  We had to address the Lantern Gallery and begin scraping it down and applying sealant because it is raining down rust and chips throughout the lighthouse.  We had to assess the removal of the solar batteries.

Task accomplished:  Megan and Eileen scraped and then primed the stairwell ceilings from the sitting room all the way up to the fourth level; one is metal, the upper one is wood.  They also completely covered the cast-iron wall with primer. 

Eileen applying sealant to the window surrounds.

Erin and David scraped the Lantern Gallery; this was our first attempt, other than doing emergency window caulking, to deal with it.  They scraped the window surrounds, the beadboard walls, and the roof, and then cleaned up and shop vacced the Gallery.  After a break, we mixed up some sealant, and Eileen and David applied it to the window surrounds.  The sealant reacts to the rust and stops it.  It is thin, and once you mix the two parts, you have to use it. 

We tried to move the solar batteries but they have to be separated and brought back one by one. Terry DeMeo offered to have them picked by separately. 

Erin and Megan swept and cleaned up rust and chips and put away the generator, which is running extremely well, thanks to Miller’s. 

Next steps:  We have to address the two hatch covers; the one in the Lantern Gallery has to be repaired and painted and put back, and the one in the Watch Gallery has to be removed and repaired, then stripped and varnished.  We have to do more scraping in the Lantern Gallery and then apply sealant.  Eventually we have to prime and paint up there. 

We will prime the stairwell brick walls and when complete, begin to paint the stairwell walls white.

We have to scrape and seal the interior ladders and then paint them black.

We have to repair the three round windows that open so we can replace glass, and we have to get some parts so they are operable.

Robbins Reef Trip Report, Thursday, May 24, 2018

Robbins Reef Trip Report, Thursday, May 24, 2018

Crew: Megan Beck, David Dallon, Erin Urban

Weather: Sunny, 70s, brisk breezes

Access: Left Miller’s at 9:30 AM on the Julia Miller captained by Michael Sabatino; back at 3:30 PM on the Nicolas Miller with Tony Semple at the helm.

Purpose of the trip: We had stairwell work and wanted to put another coat on the Watch Gallery.

Task accomplished:  David painted the Watch Gallery; it was the fourth coat.  Megan and Erin scraped the stairwell brick walls and ceilings, swept up and then David and Megan primed part of the cast iron wall and the stairwell ceiling from the kitchen to the sitting room.  Erin cleaned up and took measurements for the iron plate that will seal the kitchen wall for Scott Van Campen and Steve Kalil.  We checked out the three stationary round windows that are sealed with plywood on the fourth floor; they need glass and rims.  Friends at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum are making turnbuckles for them as part of a class in metal work.

Next steps: We will continue to scrape and prime the stairwell ceiling and walls.  When it is complete we will paint it.  Volunteers will have to get up to the Lantern Gallery next. 

We are going to need a good crew to address the Lantern Gallery.  People will have to do it in shifts, because it is wicked hot up there. We will scrape the roof and put sealant on it.  At the same time other volunteers will scrape the two metal ladders, and we will use the sealant on them and then prime and paint. 

Robbins Reef Trip Report, May 10, 2018

Robbins Reef Trip Report, May 10, 2018

Crew:  Megan Beck, Stefan Dreisbach-Williams, Chris Steffens, Erin Urban

Weather: Partly cloudy, some sun, and windy; 50s.

Access: Left Miller’s at 9:00 AM on the Emily Miller captained by Phil Tobin; back at 1:45 PM on the Emily Miller with Phil again at the helm.

Purpose of the trip:  We wanted to take the solar panels on the promenade down, remove the wiring, and check the status of the batteries.  We also had door and stairwell work.

Task accomplished:  Chris and Stefan took the panels down, and we washed and stowed them in a closet in Kate’s sitting room.  Chris decided that we should leave the rack; he may need it for the temporary solar power set up we are hoping to put together.  He removed all the wiring and stored and checked the batteries.  It looks like they may be spent due to the fact the New York Wheel personnel neglected them; they have not used the camera in over a year.  Miller’s will check them for us. 

Megan dressed the doors down with a plane, with help from Chris on a particularly sassy one.  Most of them now close.  But the door to Mae’s room fell off the hinges because of damp wood, and she had to re-hang it with longer screws. 

Erin and Stefan scraped the rest of cast iron wall in the stairwell, and Stefan primed it. 

Next steps: We will continue to scrape and prime the stairwell; have to address the ceilings next.  We may be able to do more work on the inside ladders and the hatch cover.  The Watch Gallery will get another coat of paint.

Robbins Reef Trip Report, May 3, 2018

Robbins Reef Trip Report, May 3, 2018

Crew: Megan Beck, David Dallon, Kevin Mahoney, Erin Urban

Weather: Sunny and very windy; 80s.

Access: Left Miller’s at 9:00 AM on the Emily Miller captained by Dane Devito; back at 3:00 PM on the Emily Miller with Rob Stumley at the helm.

Purpose of the trip:  We wanted to hang the remaining doors; caulk the Watch Gallery; work in the stairwell; measure the hole in the kitchen wall for Steve Kalil and Scott Van Campen; and assess and measure the balcony door for the New York Landmarks Conservancy grant proposal.

Task accomplished:  Hung all the remaining doors and installed all the doorknobs.  Scraped and primed the cast iron stairwell wall from the fourth floor down to the second floor.  Need a folding ladder to get to the ceilings and high parts of the walls in the stairwell.  Cleaned the front steps and area around them of guano.  Took necessary measurements.

Next steps: We will paint the Watch Gallery and re-hang some of the molding that we had to remove for the solar wiring.  We will continue to scrape and prime the stairwell; hopefully someone tall will come along.  Since stairs are the subject, we may be able to do more work on the inside ladders and the hatch cover. 

Other notes: The Coast Guard was there when we arrived; we had reported that a set of solar panels was ajar and they were there to fix it.  It was the NOAA panels, not the Coast Guard’s.