Watch one hour in 1.+ minutes in this Snowman Production’s time lapse photography video:
Creating the World’s Most Technologically Advanced Ocean Rowboat
Okay. I’m falling down on the job here in terms of reporting progress on the boat. Continue reading »
Emerald Harbor Marine
While we slowly divulge our journey in creating our vessel, program, and adventure, it’s appropriate to stop midstroke sometimes to acknowledge and thank those solidly behind our vision.
Theses guys know what they’re doing. And they’ve been guiding us, developing contacts with and for us, and giving of their own time to make this possible – all on top of their normal business operation of small and large craft refits, with comprehensive and technological outfitting. We couldn’t be more excited, and extremely thankful.
A little story from the 2006 journey.
Larry saw these guys and said, “I took one look at these guys, turned to Dan Heyl and said, ‘If we dont help these guys they’re going to die.’” Since then Larry, Emerald Harbor Marine, and his people have been in OAR Northwest’s corner.
Emerald Harbor Marine helped OAR Northwest from Dodo-birding themselves many years ago.
We took all of Dan and Larry’s advice as orders, and indeed no one died–in fact, we also won the race in no small part to them and the entire staff of Emerald Harbor Marine.
If you’ve heard about or were on the fence about going to the Seattle Boat Show in the upcoming next 10 days, now you’ve got even more reason. Emerald Harbor Marine will be there. Check them out – they know what they’re doing, and they care about who they’re dealing with.
Okay, I’m “borrowing” this above clip from Star Trek, but only to make fun of myself, the rest of OAR Northwest and our “crew”. The clocks ticking, and we’re attempting to get done with the refurb by early March, giving us some time to test out all the equipment and systems in a more controlled environment (Land, Lake Union, Lake Washington, Elliot Bay in Seattle) before we head off around Vancouver in April. It won’t take a miracle, just some persistence. Acting like Captain Kirk’s breathing down our necks to get the ship fixed up in order to search the galaxy for attractive green alien women…that’s all the motivation I need. What do you expect from a Trekker (not Trekkie…)?
Picking up where we left off last time, the boat’s had been stripped down of gear, and so the next task was to begin sanding it down to the primer. Note I had no experience doing this before with a fiberglass/composite boat, so I was a bit apprehensive to immediately go to town on the boat without a little instruction first by the resident geniuses in the Ballard Canal Boat Yard. Jordan did a bit of this in 2006 when the boat was first painted. It’s like driving a nail into a wall; you’ve got to tap it in place first before you start wacking away with any gusto.
Jordan as his idol Thor with a hammer
Larry Schildwachter (the Emerald Harbor Marine owner, our buddy, and Master Overlord – we’ll get to him in detail in a future post) and Doug Lambeth (owner of Pacific Fiberglass – ditto, and I love his motto – “doing it right, the first time”) gave us some instructions on how to go about work.
Rule 1: Even on a round surface, ensure that you are laying the sander flat against said surface. You don’t want to be digging down to the fiberglass with the edge of the sander. Don’t try to dig out paint in an indented area.
Rule 2: Make long, broad stokes instead of short ones. You want to take off the paint as evenly as possible down to the primer, and not create spots of exposed fiberglass, especially when you invariably come back to this spot on accident. Opening these spots up on the outside of the hull would be … counterproductive and might require patch work.
Rule 3: Don’t grind down the edges of the hull. Sand that by hand (well, at least for us noobs)
Rule 4: Ensure that you don’t blow paint particles into the nearby Fred Meyer parking lot by vacuuming the exhaust and placing tarps on the ground to protect from leakage.
Rule 5: Dress in bio-hazard looking Tyvek suits with ear and breathing protection.
Check out the time lapse of the beginning of our work.
Doing this over several days made my hands shake.
Again, more to come in the following posts, including some big thanks you hits and introductions to more of the boat yard’s personnel.
Outside my bedroom, on my porch, I have a spectacular view of much of what is the glory of the Pacific Northwest. On a rare day (it happened a couple Saturdays ago!), you can see the Cascade Mountain Range, Mt. Rainer, the Olympic Mountain Range, the Space Needle, Capitol Hill Radio Towers, Lake Washington, the beginning of Montlake Cut, and…Husky Stadium. I really like looking at Husky Stadium. I’ve had numerous good memories associated with this place. Since I was a kid I’ve gone to games with my parents, watching Greg Lewis sprint past laggard defenses for the endzone, Mario Bailey hauling in bombs from Mark Brunnell, or the Purple Haze defense beating the snot unmercilessly out of opponents. Ah, those were the days.
The past decade, college football at the UW has been in rebuilding mode. I went to every home game in 2008, during the 0-12 season, so it was quite sweet to see them in San Diego at the Holiday Bowl punish Nebraska. And now the Dawgs go bowling for a second straight year. As I always say to my co-workers when placing my (mostly losing and inane) bets, “hope springs eternal!” It looks at long last we’re getting back on the right track!
Part of that rebuilding process is the $250 million renovation of Husky Stadium. It’s incredibly interesting watching from my vantage point, both at home and when I pass it on the way to work in my car or on my bike, the sheer destruction they have already done.
Take a look at this website for a realtime three camera view of the stadium and a time lapse of the work.
Being a big Dawg fan, and renovating our own home (the ocean boat) at the same time, I think of the many parallels between OAR Northwest refurb. of the boat and stadium demo.
We too are tearing down and stripping apart our home, a perfectly ocean-worthy boat, and using the hull as a foundation to build a very unique rowing vessel. We’re not going to share exactly some of our modifications yet, but suffice to say, just like the Husky Stadium renovation, we’re not in the business just to row around something, but to provide an experience groups and individuals in many different fields can participate in, learn from, and interact with. It’s the story and experience behind our upcoming trips that we’re selling, not just the row.
Speaking of rebuilding the boat, to finish up from the two earlier posts about the beginning work of removing old equipment from the boat, I’d like to introduce our OAR Northwest Intern, University of Puget Sound (or is it just Puget Sound) Novice Men’s Rowing Coach, and ski bum, Alex Mann.
Say Hello Alex
Alex spent time with Jordan and I on a Sunday removing all the remaining parts, which included the seat tracks, round hatches, electronics panel, and odds and ends.
Removing the seat tracks caused a bit of surface layer damage to the deck
Removing the gunk that helped seal the hatches to the deck
Disassembly of the electronics panel
Stripped
There is a whole lot more work to share, many people and groups to introduce and thank, and long hours ahead in preparation to our adventure around Vancouver Island in April. Happy Holidays.
Image from Bleacherreport.com: The NBA season just started Christmas Day and Seattle STILL has no team. The Glove and The Reign Man...those were some players. I'm not bitter...sniffle...much.
I said I would start to introduce you to some of the individuals and groups we have been working with on the boat. You’ll have to be patient as my intention is to not just introduce these people in one blog post, but introduce them in the context of some of the work that they did/are doing with the boat and the organization.
Paul Williams.
Say Hello Paul
Paul helped Jordan and I on our first work day on the boat. He’s the type of guy you want to work with when you want stuff done fast, done right the first time, and he has a gruff and agreeable sense of humor to go with it. He works for Emerald Harbor Marine (you’ll be hearing much about them in the future).
5200 Marine Sealant - 3M
Many of the small parts were removed: GPS and compass, stantions and rudder lines. Bolts and nuts seemed to be numbered in the hundreds, holding small parts down. Many of them were coated in 4200 adhesive to ensure a tight fit with the hull and that no sea water would penetrate. Some had 5200 adhesive.
Slimy, Gloopy, Glop
A note to those who ever put something on a boat with 5200 and plan to remove that something. Use something else. Invariably the rookie (that’s me!) will cause damage to the boat removing the sealant coated part, even with adult supervision.
This is a Daffy Duck video representation of what I felt like pulling this stuff off the boat. Ignore the text in the beginning…it’s the only clip I could embed quickly. Nah…go ahead, read into it.
Here are a couple pictures to summarize the day:
Metal Backing of the Bow Solar Panel - Notice the Rust
Jordan Going to Town on the Boat
Stern Main Solar Panel
Done for the Day - Checkout Jimmy's Boat in the Background!
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