Drum progress

[Tom Bowser]

Attached is a photo of the super structure where we sand blast and painted this week. We are starting at 0600 and can blast until 0930 then we have to blow the sand off to make it visitor freindly, then we prime what we blasted and on friday top coat what we primed. Slow going but it is moving along. We are using 600 pounds of sand each day. Sure am glad I made the davit and got an electric hoist, it is all this old fart can do to pick up a hundred pound bag of sand and put it in the hoist basket and than take it out again.

[Lance Dean]

Excellent Tom, just excellent.  You are doing some great work down there.

[Mark Sarsfield]

Tom, how much sand have you guys had to use, so far?

[Tom Bowser]

The sand blasting contractor that donated his time and equipment to do the bow section used a toatal of 6,000 pounds in two days and he blasted from about 0630 until 1030 each morning. Lesley and I are using 600 pounds each day for roughly 4 hours of blasting using a 3/16" nozzle, by the end of this week we will have used 3,000 pounds. With the heavey rust we have it is slow going. We get the primer on within one hour after we are done blasting and then top coat color on friday. We are getting about 6-8' of the side of the superstructure each day.

I will have the bunk detail deminisions for you in a day or two.
Tom Bowser

[Mark Sarsfield]

Okay.  Thanks. 

[Tom Bowser]

As we are hanging over the side on a small scaffold sand blasting and painting with donated supplies and those bought by donated money, we are watching a coast guard Albatros being repainted because the colors were wrong, using expensive automotive paint bought by the Park. Then we watch a brand new golf cart being delivered so the grounds people can carry their weed eaters in style instead of in a cart pulled by a lawn tractor. That was right after a truck deliver 9000 pounds of sand I had just paid for. Just thought you might like to know what the view is at Drum Beach. By the way we have nice white sand to make believe we are on the gulf beach and black sand to make us feel like we are on an exotic volcanic beach in the south pacific, come on down and play in the sand.
Tom Bowser

[Lance Dean]

So how's it been going over the last couple of weeks down there Tom?

[Tom Bowser]

Things are moving along, we are geting about 8' a day done on the superstructure and are now half way thru the sail area, phot atached. I talked to a rental company thursday and they may let us use a large compressor and blaster whenever it is not rented out, that would be a big help. We start work at 0530 so we can get 4 hours without visitors, I will be glad to get inside the fuel tanks, than I can blast to my hearts content and not worry about visitors. I moved the welding machine into the stern this week so I can start welding that back together. It is going to be like putting a jig saw puzzle together with out the pieces.
Tom Bowser

[Lance Dean]

Thanks for posting that photo.  Please feel free to post any photos of the progress.  There's plenty of space!  I'm going to take any photos you post and put them in with the convention project folder.

Tom, I meant to ask this before, who does any cleaning inside the Drum?  The routine type stuff like sweeping, vacuuming, etc?

If there's anything that a total dumbass could help you with one day in specific, let me know.

[Tom Bowser]

We do the cleaning and all maintaince as needed in the afternoons if the visitor traffic isn't too bad, other wise I cleanup spills and other disasters while Lesley is painting what we got blasted for the day. Any one that can be at the park at 0530 on week day mornings and can lift 60 pounds is more than welcome to come, we will teach you how to load the sand blasting pot, we are going thru 70 pounds each morning. I call it going to Drum Beach, we have nice exotic black sand or white sand if you prefer the Gulf Coast beaches.
Tom

[Lance Dean]

I don't think it's possible to get any dirtier than running a sandblaster.  I've used a small one here at home before ... the humidity kept the nozzle stopped up 50% of the time even with a moisture trap on the compressor.  I hear that isn't an issue with a "real" sandblaster. 

So you are using 60 pound bags and going through about 70 pounds a day?  Did you get more scaffolding?

[Tom Bowser]

We are using 100 pound bags and going thru 700 pounds a day. we may be able to get the use of a ground monted scaffold but I am trying to get a powered man lift. A scaffold is just to much hassle.
Tom

[Lance Dean]

Scaffolding does take a while to put up, and the panels seem to get amazingly heavier the higher you go.  Then you have to worry with boards to walk on.  But, if you get enough scaffolding in place, it's nice.  But yeah, one of those man lift/cherry picker things are nice I'm told!  Do those have to be rented by the day or what?

[Lance Dean]

Anything new Tom?  Or just more sandblasting, priming, and painting?  How is the money and equipment holding out?

[Tom Bowser]

Still plugging along but make progress though a bit slow. Of course we still need money, the companies around here have been bled pretty hard and it getting tough to get things. also there is so much big construction going on the rental equipment isn't sitting idle. we are trying hatd to get the use of a man lift to do the bow, it is a bit precarious to do it off of our hanging scafflold but we may have to. We have welded in our first piece of new metal on the stern, we are working on that after we finish sand blasting in the morning. I always prefer to wait for it to get warm before I start welding.