Friday, February 20, 2009

There is another new post under this one.......

The myth of the video blog disappeared within minutes of starting the side project. I have no confidence in my own ability to make decisions so I tried to contact the owner of this window to ask a few questions before I started. No response means no side project. All the tools and parts were laid out and ready to go, the video camera was set up and the instruction manual was open to page 2.

What were you doing with that window in the first place? Good question. I was going to put a electric heating element on the window. To combat the ice, snow, and frost of the harsh Maine winter on the ocean. The product was made by Seaclear Industries (www.seaclearllc.com) and works like the defroster on the rear window of your automobile. The instructions are simple and the whole job should only take 5-10 min (perfect length for a video post). My issue was the size and shape of the window. The window is much larger than the seaclear so do I center it in the window or move it to one of the edges? The window isn't a square and the top and bottom lines are not parallel so do run the square seaclear with the side, top, or bottom? Plus the window is replacing a window that already has the seaclear, and how much wire is available if the new seaclear is in a different position than the old seaclear?

Anyway, it would have been a cool project to display my skills but now I'm so filled with self doubt that I will probably end up sub-contracting the job to a local glass working company. If I cared less or could afford another seaclear I would proceed with caution and common sense. The window (once completed) is going to Equinox Island Transit. No more websites in () after the company name, if its blue you can click it. We built Equinox in 1994?? I was in high school and had a limited roll at the company. The original owner was Zoe Zanidakis, she was on the CBS show Survivor, she lost. Even though the boat changed hands, we have still helped maintain and repair the vessel over the years. This window has been fixed/replaced a couple of times already. Good thing for us boats always break.

Three links in one post, so interactive. The steering system for the 38' Northern Bay that was FINALLY ordered was changed again within 10 hours of ordering it. In other 38' Northern Bay news, I have to do a stress test on the arch tomorrow to measure the amount of flex. 5 guys (1000 lbs) on the fly bridge and see how much the arch bends. My guess, on record, is that the arch will flex 1". If this is acceptable then we will continue, if not then we will get some carbon fiber and reinforce the arch until it can support more weight.

Two posts in 3 hours, I might be the greatest. Thanks to your support, we broke 200 visits to the blog since my new content kick. I just have to find a way to direct more traffic to the site. Then turn the thousands of viewers into advertising revenue. Then I could stop building boats and just make up posts about my nonexistent boat shop. For right now I'll keep working at my actual shop and writing actual posts for my nonexistent audience.

4 comments:

Dan B said...

Why can't you return the seaclear and get a larger one?


Do you go to any boat related forums? or other blogs? leaving comments with your link in them in places like that is a great way to get more readers... just don't leave spam...

Clark Island Boat Works said...

the owner of the window supplied the seaclear, i think that the next size up is a little too big. like i said in the post, its replacing an existing window and some of the wiring stuff might not be interchangeable either. plus when operating correctly the seaclear will desaltify a window. boom.

fishak said...

Great Site, and by accident I find out where to buy the stuff to see out my foggy/icy windows! Which in Alaska it is one or the other.

Thanks, Tom

Homer AK, well I'm in FL at the moment

Clark Island Boat Works said...

Glad i could help tom. once i started the project it only took about 15 min start to finish. i was going to post a pic of the finished window, but it isn't that impressive. looks the same just has a defrost ring on it now. the only problem it appears that a very small insect got trapped when the seaclear product was made at the factory. i didn't want to try to touch it worrying that i would do more damage than good. anyway it looks good and when you get back to AK make sure to check in, i always like to hear about people colder than us.