They just gave the Taney a bit of a makeover a few years ago at the same time I was in the yards on the Gallatin. The man in charge there was nice enough to give me a piece of the original wood weatherdeck. They did a great job cleaning her up. I believe that it's still there as a meuseum in Baltimore.
I live about 20 minutes from the Taney, and there are some prior crewmembers who voulenteer over there. I would be happy to pass along a message if you like.
Thanks my neighbors father was on the Taney years ago. My neighbor lived in Alaska and many other places, I was talking to my nieghbor I was talking about my Coast Guard family.
The man in charge there was nice enough to give me a piece of the original wood weatherdeck.
When I reported aboard the Taney fresh from boot camp in 1960 we were in the yards and the wooden deck was removed and replaced. So, you have a very old piece of the Taney's deck, but the original deck ended up in the trash in Alameda.
When I was on the Bibb, Nov. 1972 through May 1973, she did not have wood decks. The Taney, Aug. 1973 through April 1975, had wood decks. Does anyone know when and why the wood decks were removed from the Taney? Though I have no pictures from inside the bridge, I'd swear that we had a spoked helm. Now she has a brass helm. Anyone know when the wheel was replaced and why? A sea-story as to why I remember the spoked wheel. I was the helmsman during special sea detail. Returning to port, Capt. Paulson was standing close to the helm as he gave a steering command. I don't remember if he turned at that time but as I spun the wheel, one of the spokes caught him near the kidneys. It hit him pretty hard. I thought, 'Oh, crap!' He turned to me and apologized for getting in the way. After docking, he came over to praise my skill on the helm while rubbing his side where he got hit. I still felt bad about it, though.
Hooligan, I departed the BIBB in March 1972, CDR. Jordan Commanding. The 327's all had wooden decks during their career. The BIBB's deck was removed in the early 1960's as the CG was concerned with the corroding steel deck beneath the wood. As it turned out the steel decking was free from rust but HQ decided the replacement cost of wood was not economical. I visited the TANEY in Baltimore in 1988 and the weather deck was covered with a gray coating, I believe the wood was still in place just covered with a non skid matrial. The CAMPBELL, BIBB and DUANE all had solid brass wheels in the pilot house when I was stationed on them, but the TANEY could have sported a spoked wheel, none of the cutters were identical..
Thanks Killroy. Capt. Jordan was still there when I reported aboard. I know that cutters that old, even though of the same class, would have differences. I liked the looks of the wood deck on the Taney. I was visited the Taney last year and asked the curator about the wood decks. He didn't know when it was removed. As we were departing, I thought I saw the same, grey paint and non-skip over wood. (Why would they do that?) We had to get going and the curator had left so I wasn't able to look at the deck closer. Yours truely as he had stood many special sea details. My brother in the background, a former Navy HM2.
