Robbins Reef Trip Report, Thursday, June 28, 2018

Crew: Erin Urban

Miller personnel: Michael Sabatino, George Langer

Weather: Overcast, humid, 70s

Access: We left Miller’s at 11:45 AM on the Julia Miller captained by Michael Sabatino and came back at 1 PM.

Purpose of the trip: We cancelled the regular Crew workday at 7:30 AM because of thunderstorms all night and morning. Another one was expected in the afternoon. Terry DeMeo wanted to send George and Mike out with the generator container that Miller’s had purchased for the lighthouse and to look at the granite blocks from the 1839 lighthouse so they could work out how to retrieve one for the museum.

Task accomplished: George and Mike brought the new generator “house” out and put it on the promenade. We will use it for gasoline storage; they are going to order a slightly different container, one that opens at the top and side, so we can slide the generator in and out. They will bolt it to the plinth and promenade deck.

The temporary cover we put on the stairwell port light had blown in, and they put it back and taped it. We must get the glass for the rim and get that window tight. The area around the dog door floor was very wet and that has to be addressed as soon as possible. They recommended we clean the door itself and the dogs with white lithium grease. They opened the exterior cellar door and had some trouble closing it because the hinges on the right side are rusted through.

We looked at the granite blocks from the original lighthouse that are scattered around the caisson base on both the Verrazano Narrows and Bayonne sides. George and Mike will come back out at low tide and mark the one that we can move most easily, and come back to get it. They also looked at the remnants of Kate’s canopy at the base of the reef and will retrieve that as well.

Next steps: We hope to put the round stairwell window back and work on the round window in Jacob’s room and in Mae’s room. We have to put a second coat on the stairwell. In the Lantern Gallery, we have to clean up the round ventilation disks, and caulk and paint the beadboard. We have to replace the rusted hinges on the cellar door.

We have to dress the door to Jacob’s room and the closet door in the sitting room and install antique doorknobs. We have to scrape and seal the interior ladders and then paint them. We will assist in any way we can with retrieving a granite block.