STORY PAGE
Shipyard Fun
We were in a shipyard near Glen Burnie, MD. It was the early 60’s. All hands were “turning to” and helping to
refurbish our ship. We were there for a while. Many had managed to bring vehicles. One such seaman had a vehicle that had much to be desired. It was
mechanically sound, but patched, primed, and had a different colored door, and another colored trunk. It was color wise, a one of a kind vehicle. The owner
explained that the car was not worth the price of a paint job. He claimed that the colors gave it class. We disagreed.
One day while painting the side of the ship, the car was prepared. The windows and chrome were greased with Vaseline.
The car was pushed close to the ship. With four spray guns working together, the car received 3 coats, blending in very well with the ship. The multi colored
vehicle was now all Coast Guard white.
The seaman who owned the car went out on liberty. He couldn’t find his car. We assured him no one would steal a car
that stood out like his. His car would not appeal to a thief. We offered to help look for it. We went below to dress for leave. He went with us. While below,
the final grease from chrome and glass was removed.
We went ashore. At the bottom of the gangway some one asked him to get the flashlight from the seat of the white car
nearby. Just in case we needed it. He complied. He opened the door and as no flashlight was on the seat he checked the floor. He was out of the car and had
the door halfway shut when he finally realized it was his car.
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