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GW Installs Main Mast Ahead of Schedule

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS070119-06
Release Date: 1/19/2007 2:59:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jennifer Apsey, USS George Washington Public Affairs

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (NNS) -- USS George Washington (CVN 73) (GW) moved one step closer to the completion of the installation of the main mast Jan. 13 during the carrier’s Planned Incremental Availability plus Docking period.

Although normally completed in three separate lifts, the GW completed it in just one, a move which put the progress of the availability work ahead of schedule.

To get an idea of what was in store for the job, GW leaders met with their counterparts from USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and experienced shipyard supervisors, who offered advice and lessons from the latter’s previous mast installation.

“We got to sit down and discuss what went right, what didn’t go right and what could have gone better,” said Lt. Cmdr. Ralph Roe, GW’s combat systems maintenance officer and capstone coordinator. “We learned a lot from this. We were able to take in what the workers said, and there were lessons learned that definitely benefited the planning for this availability.”

The work aboard GW began as workers disconnected antennas and connecting wires and finished with the complete removal of the mast Nov. 10. At the same time, Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) workers assembled the new mast, which stands approximately 15 feet higher than the one it replaced.

“Because of the height and weight of the main mast, we were challenged to be able to install it in a single lift,” said Joe Thompson, the shipyard project superintendent for the GW.

After the mast was set, shipyard workers began welding work with a goal that the mast would be free standing within six days. Because the GW work followed the standard Stennis set of six days of work per segment, NNSY workers shaved 12 days’ worth of work off GW’s schedule.

“There has been tremendous synergy between the shipyard, contractors and ship’s force during this evolution,” Roe said. “Even though the mast installation will not truly be completed until all of the antennas are replaced, the early completion of today’s evolution provides additional time for the remaining installation and testing phases.”

George Washington is undergoing a $300 million shipyard availability at NNSY as it prepares to relieve USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) as the Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier in Japan in 2008.