Monday, May 18, 2015

Refit Video - Episode 7

Episode 7 shows an innovative use of an old boat, installing the traveler horse, preparing the water tank and lifting it into place. There is a significantly longer version of how the tank was lifted and maneuvered into place here.


If the box above doesn't have the video, you can link to it directly at YouTube here:  https://youtu.be/Vbt8a_cE1VA

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Vacuum Obituary #2

In not-so-loving memory...

Vacuum # 2 lived and worked a mere 2.3% of the time Shop Vac, whose obituary is here, lived and worked. Vacuum # 2 was definitely not faithful or assertive. Gritty, yes, in a timorous sort of way. Alas, it was laid to rest at the bottom of a big dumpster, now covered with paint cans and moldy bunk cushions. So be it.

Kuewa's bottom is sanded to a near perfect finish and was washed with water and scrubber. After the round of rain that is on its way clears out, I will wipe down with acetone and then apply one coat a day of epoxy barrier coat for five days.

The new stainless steel water tank is near completion and yesterday I moved the traveler horse from the welding shop in Alameda to the electro polishers in Oakland. Electro-polishing submerges the part in a liquid bath with an electrical charge which creates an anti-corrosive and more attractive finish on the stainless by removing iron molecules from a thin layer of the surface, leaving behind the chromium and nickle. Pretty slick, and a lot cheaper than having the welding shop polish with compound and electric tool for two days.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Refit Video - Episode 5


If the box above doesn't have the video, you can link to it directly at YouTube here:  http://youtu.be/aYAzJExxH_g

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Giant Low

I've already emailed this to a few people, but I'm so impressed by it that I have to post it here as well. Look at the size of this low pressure system currently establishing itself in the North Pacific. The image is a forecast for tomorrow mid-day. The colors denote wave height: blue is small, green bigger, pink-red pretty doggone rough. The base map is rather crude but you can recognize the US West Coast on the right, Hawaii at the bottom, and the Aleutian Islands at the top. This thing is 3,000 miles across!