Saturday, October 31, 2015

Sliding Seat kayak Platform


Drop-in Rowing Unit

How cool is it that  Boulter Plywood.... perhaps the best distributor of marine plywood in the world.... is only located a few miles down the road in Somerville, MA,

I am planning to buy a few sheets of  Okoume A/B BS1088 Lloyds Approved , 4x8 12 mm stock to craft a deck for my sliding seat kayak rowing craft.

Hope to be gliding around Marblehead Harbor before Thanksgiving.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Aquaponics Concepts - Zero In on the Best Alternative

Aquaponics: Turns out that I can buy food grade IBC containers in good condition for $100 at a source on Highland Ave. in Salem.  Will pick a couple soon and work on them at the Peabody shop.Free Workshop Build a Backyard Fishfarm in an Afternoon: Construction of Automatic Bell Siphons for Backyard Aquaponic Systems - detailed info & photos: Many species of fish are suitable for aquaculture and aquaponics. Species which have been researched and successfully reared in cages in the southeastern region of the U.S. include:catfish, trout, tilapia, striped bass, red drum, bluegill sunfish,crappie, and carp. As this interest continues to increase,more research into cage culture techniques and alternate species will no doubt occur. We have a PDF you can look at about freshwater species.: Backyard Aquaponics • View topic - Medium system picture gallery (500L - 3000L) (130 - 790gal): aquaponics farm installation: Aquaponics setup from IBC totes.  Find on craigslist for $60 - $100 each. (they sell these down the road from me cheap but they go FAST) I need to do this!:

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Federal Street Fire Station

 This is the Fire Station on Federal Street in Lynn where my father and his friends built their boats in the back room.  They had to remove a wall to get the boats out when finished,   I doubt that Fire Department regs would permit this today.

He and his buddies built a 14 ft. runabout that had fins on the back.   We test launched it in Sluice Pond behind the present Four Winds Pub.   It was powered by a 35 HP Johnson outboard that I remember was not very reliable.  It was kept on Swain's Lake aka Union Lake in East Barrington, NH where my parents had a summer camp.

I remember hanging around the station during the 4th of July, and watching the fire fighters slide down the 15 ft. brass pole from the second floor to the first, hurrying to respond to bon fires.  The station has been demolished for years and General Electric is now at the site.

Friday, October 09, 2015

Solar Powered Aquaponics Project


This is how I'm going to power the pump for the aquaponics system that I am planning.   Going off grid just for the hell of  it.  Going with a bank of two 12V deep cycle batteries to start and two 100 Watt solar panels.   Will invest in a 3000 Watt DC to AC inverter to be able to run power tools off the system from time to time as well as the pump which should operate 24/7. 

I haven't yet decided on the fish tank and vegetable bed designs, nor have I told Joanne about where this is going in the yard.





Have to design the swirl filter and siphon drain systems, plus I'd love to catch some local wild bluegill or perch for the fish tanks.  Also have to research what plants to use in the winter months.... probably garlic and kale.  I think that I'm going with ibc tote foodgrade containers to modify for the beds and fish tank.

The beds will be flushed with the below bell siphon.