[FRD]

Glad to see you got the bunkers straightened out, they look great!

I can say with absolute certainty that the engine room decking was blue, I cannot however say what color the engine deck was.

Consulted by Jeff Johnston, project specialist with NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary during the recovery, retrieved was the engine room decking and it was quite a puzzle.

I have in my possession a photograph of Jeff kneeling aboard ship holding a piece of the engine room decking, as the wreck was inverted it was one of the first things brought to the surface.

Most noteworthy was the fact that it still had blue pigment visible but also that it had the raised, diamond pattern of a non-skid surface.

It was thought to be one of the earliest forms of a non-skid surface.

Jeff was puzzled by this, he had no idea why the decking was blue.

An explanation of this was provided by Ray Morton, an expert on the U.S.S. Constitution, on small boats, marine pigments, flags and banners.

Ray said that he encountered a similar feature on the Constitution's small boats where the lowest interior place had also been painted blue.

He attributed it to a naval mandate that stipulated;, "The lowest place to put a man's feet should be blue, the color of the mid-day sky over Washington (D.C.) in summer time"

It may not be the actual explanation but it's the only one I got.

With the pigment, "vermillion" being found on the raised engine, the bunkers being white and the decking being blue, it was Jeff who brought it to my attention that overall the engine room was, "Red, White and Blue".