Boss Lift 2009

We have had several details and paint jobs to do at our shop. As they are done in the same building as my sailboat I had to halt work on my boat for the month and not make or disturb any dust in my area.

I managed to catch up on all the undone chores around the house and participate in Boss Lift 2009.

If you have a reservist as an employee you can be nominated to attend; its two days of hands on "lets show them what we do" events and displays. I was delighted to be nominated and attend, it was an eventful two days I will never forget. We flew in C-130's, blackhawk choppers, fired weapons sims against terrorists, drove the M-4 tank simulator, flew the A-10 warthog simulator , called in fire support, launched drones, and climbed all over and thru a variety of vehicles and equipment, and aircraft.

It began at 0630 with a C-130 transport picking us up at the Coeur d Alene airport heavy lift ramp. We all climbed aboard and strapped in and off we went.

 

Once up to altitude they oppened the ramp so we could have a look out

 

 They closed the ramp and invited us to unbuckle and explore the aircraft. Gary and I headed up to the cockpit to check it out.

 

 

  

 

When we arrived at the airbase we were given lunch and had a welcoming ceremony and then it was off to experience a sampling of the training that takes place.

They laid out a bunch of weapons for us to fire on the simulator range. They are real weapons that recoil and behave as if they had live rounds in them.

 

We fired at a terrorist scenario at a refinery, it was pretty cool.

After that we were given a demonstration of the up-armored Humvee trainer. They roll it to thirty degrees, then 90, then 180 and practice evacuating the vehicle in a roll over and setting up a defensive perimeter.

The doors on the up-armored vehicle weigh more than 700 lbs so when its on its side they are to heavy to open and the only way out is through the roof turret.

 

Gary checks out the Humvee

 

Then it was off to the Abrams tank where we got to climb all over it and sit in it and then go into the simulator and try our hand at targeting and firing on enemy vehicles........ok,....this one was a lot harder than I thought it would be and I was very surprised to learn that the temperature inside the tank is well over 100 degrees when used in the desert.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside of  the tank or simulator.

After a very busy afternoon they laid out a very nice dinner for us in the officers mess and we called it a night.

The next day we were up early and at it again! We boarded Black Hawk choppers for a flight out to the desert where they were practicing and had set up some displays for us.

  

  

 

 They launched a drone for us and then we went into the command tent where they called the shots and observed them at work.

 

The pilots of drone fly it from inside a container that can be transported on a Humvee, we were suprised to walk around the back of it and open the door to see the pilots flying the drone while the container is on the truck. Now that's a mobile unit!

 

 

  

  

  

After checking out the displayes we boarded the choppers for a flight back to the base.

 

 

Once back at the base we got to fly the A-10 warthog simulator. As a pilot this was the highlight of the trip for me. It was a truly amazing experience! The multi-million dollar simulator had a moving view everywhere you looked,..above, behind, down on both sides of the aircraft,.....it was amazing to fly. I did a strafing run on several targets (got em all!) and then pulled up and rolled inverted. She was not real happy inverted so I rolled her back over to 90 degrees and put her into a very tight left turn. It cornered like it was on rails!

I came out of the simulator trembling from the adrenilin that was still coursing through me.

Regrettably, the simulator is clasified and all cell phones, cameras, and devices capable of recording images or sound was confiscated before we were allowed to enter the area so I was unable to get any pictures of it.

After that it was back to the flight line to climb around and check out the aircraft.

 

Gary checks out an F-15

  

My favorite; the A-10 warthog

  

  

 

 

  

  

 

They had several F-15s and A-10 buzzing around while we were on the flight line. It was hard to get good pictures of them with the delay of my digital camera.

 

 

Plotting the stripe before sanding it off

Before sanding off the stripe tape is applied to the hull and a measurement is taken from the top of the stripe to the bottom of the stripe and marked on the tape. Then the stripe is sanded off from the bottom up towards the top but leaving the top of the stripe intact. Once the hull is prepped the measurement is taken from the tape and measured down from remaining top of the stripe and marked on the hull. Then fine-line tape is applied along the marks and the bottom of the stripe is back where it was before being sanded off. The process is then repeated placing tape along the bottom of the stripe and measuring up to the top of the stripe. The top of the stripe is sanded off and the hull prepped, then, using the measurements recorded on the tape the top of the stripe is plotted and fine-line tape is applied to the hull and the stripe is ready to be painted again. We have a ways to go yet before we are ready to plot the top of the stripe, the pictures below only show the bottom stripe being plotted.

Tow vehicle

The ol' jeep finally started fading and it was time to get something more reliable. It has over 300,000 miles on it and has given us very good service. Gary was the service manager for the local Dodge dealership for several years and knows their product line very well so I decided on a 3/4 ton turbo charged diesel. After much looking we found a solid 1997 with a nice towing package. It should be just right for towing the sailboat,............ now I just need to build the trailer.

Transom

For unknown reasons, a previous owner had assaulted the transom with a grinder. We have used 40 grit to get down below the grinder marks deep into the original gel-coat where we have begun to uncover an old name as we sand.

It shows up as a light colored "ghost" shadow against the original cream colored gel-coat. The name "Defiance" was on second to last coat of paint. This name is much older and not fully legible yet. The first letter is "P" then maybe an "I" or "L" last two letters look like "WA" with perhaps an "L" before the W, with a lot of space between the first and last letters. The name is low on the transom and might be the port name? Its become a game at the shop to try and guess what it might be but no one has come up with anything that fits yet.

July 5th: After further sanding the name has been revealed, "Philadelphia". I was way off on what I thought the letters were.

Sanding, sanding, and more sanding

With temperatures being on the cool side this week we took the opportunity to do a lot of sanding. Its a nice job to do when its cool, when its hot out the temperature in the shop soars and its difficult to stay suited up for very long without overheating. We started on deck and got most of the old non-skid sanded off of the deck and cabin top. The texture had been badly damaged and it was necessary to sand it off. 40 grit 3M purple sanding disks made the work go fast.

The hull was sanded down to bare fiberglass between the toe-rail and the cove stripe in preparation for glassing the hull and deck joint. Tyler and Chris stopped by and asked if they could lend a hand sanding the bottom. They had done the first wave of sanding on it when the project first started and wanted to finish the job. I was grateful for the help! In four hours they had most of the bottom on the port side sanded down to bare fiberglass and promised to return tomorrow night to sand some more. If we can keep up this pace we should have most of it done by the weekend.

Anchor locker: glassing the core

Filled and faired the imperfections then cut the balsa core and test fit it. Removed it and wet the area with epoxy resin and installed the core, placed weights on it, and let it cure.

Once cured, a long-board sander and DA was used to fair the area. The low spots were filled and then the area was faired a final time. Two layers of Biaxial cloth were then rolled into place.

Anchor locker

I could not sleep last night, at 3am I was wide awake so I set off for the boat.

I crawled under the cockpit and realized I was very close to being done down there. One small partition to go and some minor fairing.
It made me smile. I crawled out and looked the interior over,.....most everything is well underway and either dfp (down for parts) or on hold till more of the dust making is done. The end is in sight for the interior!
I went on deck and wandered up to the anchor locker, put the density meter on the deck and plotted out the area that needed to be removed. Took the skill saw and cut thru the top layer of glass then used the fein tool with a scraper blade and had the zone cleaned up to the base laminate in no time flat. That tool is amazing!! Took an old hatch of of the salvaged boat and cut it down and laid it over the chain locker opening on deck. With a little modification I think it will work out fine. Then it hit me! I'm actually moving on to the exterior stuff now! :-) I will be working on glassing the hull and deck joint soon if this pace keeps up.