Jack Gardiner

Oh boy, Seems the powers that be have once again changed the plan. As of now the plan is to MOVE the tall ships back to Newport, and the parade of sail is back on!!!! Jack also on the local news front, they have taken an old blue law off the books, it seems the police could open fire if a crowd of over 30 were to be illeagally "demonstrating"

Sad news, They have cancellled the parade of sail, due to the cost and risks of security, the ships will be towed in by tugs I hate to say it but chalk another victory up for the terrorists, I was under the impression by our president that we must go on with our lives as usual, and not buckle to the terrorists. sadly, it isnt the case here. On a side note the columbian vessel wont be making the trip, cause its being held until they find out who is responsible for the 80 or so kilo's of herion and cocaine found in the engine room. guess il just stick with the best therapy I know, Boatbuilding, hopefully the rest will sort itself out. pokes a finger thru some loose stitching in his moaning chair........... Jack

Im doing something similar, I started diving a couple of years ago, I had started as a kid snorkeling in the local pond, bay, ocean. During my 20's and 30's I wasn't able to continue, so a few years ago I ventured into a dive shop and payed for my first cert and my personal gear and started on my open water. Without any problems with the skills I progressed very quickly. At this time I offered to "work" in the shop and on the boat for gear and certs. So far I have my divemaster cert that I received last fall, this is the card I really wanted. Now I assist an instructor, Il be divemaster on the shops new dive boat this season. hehehehhe all the wreck trips for free and they swim where I want to hahahahhahahha. I dive in R.I. conditions are cold water and low vis, low vis being a bad day 2-4 ' a good day 6-8 and a great day 15-20 great days are few and far between, but that makes strong navigation skills. In early Jan we went out to do an advanced students deep dive/drysuit dive. 35f deg water 50 feet for 45 mins air temp was in the 20's, when we surfaced all 3 of us were unable to speak and we were babbling ba bah bah babab bub blub its like leaving your face in a bowl of melting ice cream for 45 mins. last fall we took a trip to the fla keys and dove the spiegle grove, we were the only ones on the boat and was able to swim the entire length, I made 132 feet on that dive. a very cool wreck dive, this boat was sunk as a reef and dive attraction, so its been made safer for all levels of diver. we then headed over to the bahammas and we did the shark feeding dive, lots of fun... I agree that the rescue diver course is one of the best to have, it gives you more confidence and knowlege. If you follow this link, Im the guy in the picture to the left of the sharks including the shop owner scuba steve . http://www.scubatoo.com Jack

Plastic? are you referring to Peel ply?? or poor mans peel ply? using mylar over glassing definetly helps fill the weave making fairing and finishing much easier. great trick in my eyes Jack

I agree also, Been using west for years, I have been building in a heated while im in it shed, and the temps at night have gone from -0 temps and up to freezing, I have come out to frozen epoxy, heat it up and it takes off! Im using med also as I have a gallon of it. also running off the 5 gallon pumps. Jack

hrmmm, I have a 5 gallons of red lead and I havent used it beacuse someone told me that it was illegal. I used it in the ornemental iron business as a primer, at least in R.I. lead paint has been outlawed and the DEM is like the ATF here about the use of it and removal so I dont use it. if you are caught removing it with mechanical means, ie a sander, its $10,000 per person per offense, also if mechanical means are used they want a I think it was a 5 micron HEPA vac, then its haz waste.. in the late 70's and early 80's everybody was sandblasting the crap off the houses with no protection. personally, I thought the stuff worked great Jack

I would stay away from red lead, I was under the impression that it was not used anymore. In my personal experience with todays space aged materials is that I would use epoxy and encapsulate and I would also use a light weight cloth to hold it all together so it does not check, split, crack, warp. If you are attempting "old world" boatbuilding with exotic woods then it gets more complex as some woods do not take to epoxy the same as others. so, what kind of boat ya building? Jack

I can relate from experiences with project work, Dont forget the jobsite BBS, err porta-john or rest rooms, if you want to know how the project is going on the whole, and whats going on, read that board. Jack Remmeber the first ones off a sinking ship are the rats

Steady as she goes! Frank, keep them back!!! "Furher I shall not kiss an americans feet for any favours because he belongs to a nation that kills innocent people in other countries for the sake of oil and profit." Oil and profit... seems to me oil prices are up, and we will bear the price of freedom for others in the world besides ourselves, as we have done countless times in the past. Dont tread on me! Jack

I also was in Newport in '76. I recieved a coin from one of the CG Eagle's crewmembers at the time I remember my Dad saying, keep that, someday that will be worth a few. I could not remember if you could board the vessels, but I do remember being right beside the ships on the warf. The parade of sail was VERY spectacular. I remember foreign sailors walking around newport with local girls and the local guys complaining that they could not get a second look;) rt 138 coming into the bridges was at a standstill everyday and turned into tailgate parties, overheated cars everywhere, yes, I was inside one of those. I was 16 back then. I was at Ft Adams for the 1986 parade of sail, very cool. I have to complete this boat for this! Ken, your in Wickford?, well we are out of little allens harbor, just north of quonset, actually I think its in davisville. We have a large slip there where we keep our 34' dive boat. basicly the base of operations for us, the dive shop is right up the street. So you will keep the south lookout and we will keep the north lookout! Coldest Jan since 1893? I have been building a sailboat in my converted 1920's drafty prohibition rum runners storage shack turned workshop. on the coldest night we had the wood burning stove going, and the kero tube heater going and it just could not keep it warm even with a fan blowing the warmer air higher in the room down. So I had to retreat and wait it out a few days. <----<<< you eskimo's in the audience, I know, we are wimps. The hull is complete and ready to glass, some more interior fitting out and finishing and thats done. this boat is only 14' long and a beam of 48", so its not hard to move around. I have started the keel for the weekender, doing the glue ups. So I guess its offcial that I have started it. being a carpenter, and I use the term loosely hehehhe I am pretty good at managing a project however my orginal plan was not to rush and enjoy the "boatbuilding" part of it. hrmmm, perhaps the schooner project for winter 04' or a knuckle bow weekender rambling on again Jack

http://www.saratogamuseum.com/events/tallships.html woops, bad link, I have to find a newer updated link, but this has some cool pics heres a better one http://www.sailrhodeisland2004.com/ I gotta have my weekender done in time for this!! Jack

I guess im just a large child, I have that same drive when it comes to boats. Even the dreary tasks seem to brighten up when your building a boat. When my family saw that I recieved yet another set of plans they looked at me in a strange way as they know that I get consumed in these projects. I know its hard to walk away every night from experience. But every new day brings new energy and ideas, and those "issues" seem to disolve. she will be there in the morning, or next week. knowing that gets me thru the rigors of life till the next time I can escape to the boat shed. Good luck with those boats and work safely! Jack

Thanks for the warm welcomes, Well, the temp got to a reasonable temp this morning and out I go to the boat shed, I fire up the kero tube heater and get the wood burning going. Cell phone rings. I answer with a wince and they say, my heat wont shut off, is this bad? i say, no its too dammed cold, leave it and it will eventually. this isnt good enough so i hop in the truck and head over and assure them that there is nothing wrong its just dammed cold out, i race back to the shed. I get things going and start ripping up some stock to laminate. I hear a soft, Jack?..... <loud sigh> yes?? are you expecting a package?? I bolt out of the shed and grab the fex ex box and mumble that its a boat building video and wave it at mom, whewf, quick thinking comes thru again, and i didnt have to lie. I open it, I see I need 3/4 inch Yes!!! I have stock!!! oooooo, another paragraph or so and the phone goes off, I SCREAM!!! I answer, they say, hey, our cieling is getting wet with hot hot water, why is this?? I say your pipe has burst, go shut off the boiler and turn the water feed off, im on my way. I am a broken man. Jack

Oh, Sorry I was meaning to make a suggestion for your sheetrockers, I use durabond 25 45 or 90 heres the skinny on it. for drywall sheetrock walls, I use 25 for the DEEP corners and 1st coat of the joints, 25 signifies it will harden in 25 mins, 45 is 45 mins, 90 is 90 mins, the advantage is you get to put the next coat on that day, and so on..... unless your going for a blue board and plaster job, but it does not sound like your going in that direction. last coat I usually go back to the premixed stuff a bit thinned out to make a nice creamy last coat that is easy to manage and spread. If your having the job done by a contractor they may not like to use it, or do not want to be told "how" to do it, attitudes vary they may not even know about this trick to shave days off the finish product. It comes in bags and called durabond. like I was saying it hardens rather than having to "dry" also shrinks & cracks less that the bucket type in deep applications. also I usually open a top floor window or roof vent to Vent out the moisture, but then again im not in -40f LOL In the trades everybody has there own way to get to the finish product, this has always given me that extra edge and speed without sacrificing a quality job. Jack might want to bring them coffee before suggesting it

Well, That makes me feel alot better, this am here we are at 16 and may hit the 30's!!!!!! we have been in a snap for a few days our low was -8 or so but we have been in the lower singles for weeks. My shops heat cannot keep up with those temps, finally today il get back to it. good luck with your shop and your project, its just as much fun building them as it is sailing them!! Jack