1992: Starting with the Second Generation of Shipowners

Chapter 46 New Tools

The busy spring flood season lasted for about ten days, with the service station's daily routine consisting of emergency repairs.

During the hour that the fishing boats docked at noon, the pier was filled with the clanging and banging of wrenches and bolts.

Old Fang led Ah Hai from one boat to another, while Ding Haisheng and Hong Xiaobing squatted next to the gearbox on another boat, disassembling the clutch disc.

Qiu Changhai and Master Song stood by the stone trough, suturing the seams, while Lin Xiue squatted beside them, mixing tung oil putty.

After the new tools brought by the Ping An arrived, Ahai took out the new torque wrench, wiped the dial, and placed it on the top shelf of the tool wall.

That old torque wrench had been in service for almost two years. The numbers on the dial were worn and a bit blurry, but it was still accurate for tightening bolts. Old Fang asked him to leave it for the trainees in the training class to practice with.

The new feeler gauge also came in handy. That afternoon, Ahai used it to measure the clearance of the gearbox bearing on the official vessel. The thin piece, only a few tenths of a millimeter in diameter, was inserted and just barely held in place.

Ah-Guang cleared out an area in the old parts warehouse specifically to store new tools.

Torque wrenches, feeler gauges, fuel injector cleaning tools, and open-end wrenches—each item was numbered and clearly recorded in the register.

He put a label next to the new tool that read, "Provincial-allocated training equipment, for shared use by trainees."

As Hong Xiaobing passed by the used parts warehouse, he peeked inside and asked if the new wrench was easier to use than the old one.

Ah Guang said the new wrench has sharp teeth and won't slip when tightening bolts.

After these new tools arrived, the practical training sessions also included new content.

Ahai brought the new fuel injector cleaning tool to the training room, disassembled an old fuel injector that was clogged with carbon deposits, put it into the cleaning tool and flushed it under pressure. The cleaning fluid that came out was as black as ink.

Several trainees gathered around to watch. Old Chen's brother-in-law said that in the past, even if you used a thin steel wire to poke around, you couldn't get it this clean after a long time. This new tool can clean it thoroughly in just a few rinses.

Ahai reinstalled the cleaned fuel injectors onto the diesel engine, restarted it, and the black smoke in the exhaust pipe was so faint that it was almost invisible.

Lao Fang asked Ahai to write down the operating steps of this cleaning tool as a lesson plan, so that it could be taught in every training course thereafter.

Ahai took a new registration book and used it as a lesson plan book, writing down one item at a time: how to assemble the cleaning tools, what ratio to use the cleaning solution, how to adjust the rinsing pressure, and how to check the nozzle permeability after rinsing.

The handwriting was neat and tidy, as if it had been written with a ruler, and it was exactly the same as the words "three gears, five bearings, and two rudder sticks" in the first register.

After finishing work in the evening, Wang Cunzhi rode his motorcycle over.

He parked his car at the gate and called out into the courtyard, "Station Chief Jiang, there's a document from the province."

Jiang Haiping came out of the office and said that the province had held a meeting and that this year they would promote the standardized maintenance system for fishing boats in several pilot counties along the coast.

Each official vessel must have a maintenance record, which includes all maintenance items, replaced parts, and warranty periods, so that they can be matched up during the next maintenance.

Jiang Haiping took the document, read it from beginning to end, folded it, and put it in the drawer.

Wang Cunzhi squatted at the workshop entrance and lit a cigarette. He said that there were still a few official boats from the county aquatic products company that needed repair but hadn't been scheduled yet. He heard that the service station would be doing maintenance after the spring flood season.

He then asked how the trainees were doing in the training course.

Jiang Haiping said that Ahai is teaching how to use the new fuel injector cleaning tool, and the teaching aids in the training class are much better than when the class first started.

Wang Cunzhi held the cigarette between his fingers and flipped through two pages of Ahai's lesson plan. When he saw the sentence on the title page, he laughed and said, "This character must have been written with a ruler. Ahai had this habit when he first came to the service station."

Old Fang came out of the workshop and greeted Wang Cunzhi.

Wang Cunzhi said he knew an old fisherman from Hongjia Island who had a small motorboat whose engine kept failing to start, and asked Ahai to reserve a spot for him in the next training course.

He then asked the service station if they had any old wrenches that weren't in use, so he could help the old fisherman take one home to practice with.

Ah Guang overheard this and said he would come tomorrow to pick out an old wrench for Director Wang to take away.

The spring flood season has ended, and the service station has several government boats waiting for repair.

The two ships with leaking gearboxes were assigned to Ding Haisheng and Hong Xiaobing, the ship with abnormal rudder noise was handled by Qiu Changhai, and the ship with burning engine oil was personally inspected and repaired by Lao Fang and Ahai.

The Ping An has also returned. Lin's father berthed the boat and said that the cargo transport had been going smoothly these past few days. The new tools were all original factory goods shipped by sea. He had checked the packaging when unloading the cargo, and the production dates on them were all from this year.

Lin Xiu'e took the cable and looked down. The two red ribbons had faded to a light red by the sea breeze and were still tied to the rudder.

She gently rubbed the edge of the strip of cloth with her fingers; it was already a little frayed, but it was still firmly wrapped around the bollard.

After the service station quieted down in the evening, Jiang Haiping sat in the workshop and reviewed the standardized maintenance document again.

On the windowsill, there were four basins of tung oil putty mixed by Lin Xiu'e, covered with damp cloths.

The government vessels will be towed in for maintenance tomorrow, and new maintenance records will be created for each one.

He put down the documents, took out a training manual from the drawer, and began writing down the key points of the spring safety inspection. The sound of the pen tip gliding across the paper was enveloped by the sound of the waves, even and steady.