Construction after Destruction.

I know, sweet title. Possibly the first good title out of all these posts. Everyone showed up for work today even though it snowed 10" last night. Most of the time someone will call in with a shoveling emergency or a leaky roof but everyone braved the elements and we got some work done.
The 36' Calvin (photo to the left) is in the beginning stages of being finished. Everything that need to be removed has been and all the work from here to the end is making this boat better than it ever was. The old lazarette bulkhead had to be moved forward to make space for the new fiberglass fuel tanks (2nd photo). Bulkheads aft of the wheelhouse will be the front of the below deck lobster tanks. A second bulkhead will be positioned 56" aft to make the rear of the lobster tanks. The nuts and washers on the back side of the lifting rails have been glassed over, and the stainless steel exhaust system (not pictured) is in the final stages of production.

The shop flood of last week slowed the progress on the new tanks. With the water gone Otto glassed the baffles in the second tank and put a top on the first tank. Barring major delays the tanks should be ready to pressure test by Wednesday night. After the tanks are done we can put the deck back down and send this boat back to Rhode Island. With the new lobster tanks I would advise the owner to haul all the gear he sees between Maine and RI and see if he could top off both tanks. Just don't get caught.

I was on the 38' Northern Bay again working on the fly bridge. I talked about some hatches that I was trying to make but I was having trouble drawing a picture with my limited verbal skills. The photo (#3) of the bench and hatch should make this easier. The hatch hangs over the inboard edge of the bench utilizing the overhang as a handle. Once the fiberglass channel arrives a U will be built on the bottom side of the seat. The forward part of this bench is removable to make it possible for a person to sit facing forward. When the 20" section is positioned as it is in the photo it makes a 6'10" couch for someone to lay down on. We tried to mock up a center console for the owner to approve complete with a cardboard steering wheel. If he can make final decisions on that console then the flybridge should be done by Thursday.

In other shop news: lots of heavy snow = Dan spent much of the morning shoveling off the roof where the snow from the main shop had fallen onto the wood shop/break room. 36' Calvin = tanks, bulkheads, and the other stuff that I already talked about nearer to the beginning of this post. 38' Northern Bay = performed a stress test on the arch, 595 lb on the center of the arch standing closer than any three people should ever be standing, sag in the arch 7/16", hopefully that will be acceptable. Welding shop = John skipped break to "finish something up" and I didn't see him the rest of the day, must have been busy.

I have a customer looking for a molded top for a 36' Calvin, so if anyone knows were I can find one, thanks in advance. No links today, 3 pictures, if I had to grade this post I would give it a 5.45 out of 10 (just slightly better than average). With only 11 posts left I would like to get at least one visit from every state in the USA so if you could send a link to the people in the following states..........OREGON, NEVADA, IDAHO.........it would help...........I'm filling in the map from left to right.

Dust = Work is getting done.

Get ready for some serious blogging. For those of you that tuned in yesterday many times only to see that nothing had been added, sorry. Played poker last night and blew off the Thursday post. You'll all be happy to hear that I was the big winner, easiest 50 buck I had made all week. After I get this post finished I have an interesting project that might be posted as the first ever video blog on this site. It could be interesting depending on how badly I mess it up.

Pictured is the 38' Northern Bay minutes after the holes for the air vents had been cut in. There will be two Vetus vents (www.vetus.nl) on either side of the wheelhouse. Most of the time the cubic inches of air intake would be half of the motor's horsepower. This motor's hp is 567 so it would need about 280 cubic inches of vent. The owner wanted to make sure that the engine would get plenty of air so there is 600 cubic inches of vent. At Clark Island Boat Works the customer is always right. The air will dump into the seat backs and be routed into the engine room. Delta T fans will be installed to assist in the moving of air.

This bench located on the starboard side of the wheelhouse, although primarily used for sitting, will hide the back side of the vents. It will also serve as another bunk for sleeping and hatches cut in the top will open up a large storage area. There is another bench on the other side of the wheelhouse (not pictured). This bench is made out of nidacore (www.nida-core.com), a plywood substitute. Lighter than plywood, waterproof, but much more expensive. 3/4 inch nidacore 200 bucks a sheet compared to 50 a sheet for plywood. Why does better almost always mean more expensive?

So I actually got some work done these past couple of days, with the boss back I could focus on boats and not have to worry about running the crew. Everyone is getting sick, I've managed to dodge it for a couple of weeks but my luck may be running out.

In other shop news: 36' Calvin = tank work, exhaust work, lifting rail finished, and new tank area ready for tanks. 38' Northern Bay = benches, more arch glassing, vent holes cut, steering system ordered (finally) Welding shop = fixed a shrimp cooker, started building supports for a ramp, and other metal type fabrication. 35' Repair job (I have to ask the hull style, its very unprofessional for me not to know what type of boat it is) = new windows in the trunk side, more gel on side decks, air box built in back section of wheelhouse.

Much better post than I expected, got lots done yesterday. Getting caught up one post at a time. Anyone that would like to step up for a "guest post" I would be willing to turn over the reins. Halfway home, and if I can get another post done by midnight I'll be closer to the end than the beginning. Check out the Vetus site they have lots of cool stuff, and if I'm not mistaken CIBW gets a mention on the Nida-core site.

Later.