CHAPTER I SECTION 4 | VOL. II BOOK 4 joints, and steering mechanisms made daily inspection and lubrication neces- Sary. LCU. The general discussion of the hazards and difficulties of maintenance of the LCM craft is applicable to these boats. dry docking for underwater work. These boats, however, required Before the start of the operation, all of these were docked and placed in good operating condition. They were all again docked in September 1952 to insure tight bottoms in anticipation of their being towed to sea for the Evacuation Period, YTL (HARBOR TUGS). one with a steel hull, There were two of these, one with a wooden hull, and The wooden hull craft had to be docked approximately every six months to insure against damage by marine borers. No major items of maintenance were required other than the renewal of the propeller shafting of the steel tug which was damaged in service. The following docking record shows the type of craft serviced in the dry dock for the period 1 January through 5 November 1952. BOAT NO. M-192 YC-49 TYPE Steel Tug Wooden Barge DATE DOCKED 9 January 9 February 7 February 27 February 8 March 26 March AVR-79 (Navy) 29 February M-138 T -Boat 14 April YTL-139 Wooden Tug M-38 M-61 M-125 YC-1354 Wooden Barge Sea Mule Steel Barge Steel Barge M-216 T-Boat AVR.-20987 M-214 M--215 M-143 M-138 M-139 M-192 (Navy) T-Boat T-Boat T-Boat T-Boat Wooden Tug Steel Tug DATE UNDOCKED 19 27 11 31 April June July July 12 August 4 September 10 September 18 September 30 September 11 October 26 October 26 October 2 March 17 April 12 3 31 5 May July July August 1 September 10 September 18 September 30 September 11 October 16 October 28 October 5 November DIVING OPERATIONS. All deep sea diving operations, Figure 4-2, were performed by crews from the maintenance organization of the Marine Department. Deep sea diving equipment for Holmes & Narver use was obtained early in this operation. The acquisition of this equipment obviated any further need of assistance from the U. S. Navy divers for depths down to 130 feet. This limit of 130 feet was necessarily established due to the lack of a decompression chamber. Divers were required to volunteer for this work and only those who 4-7