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.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Time for an Autumn Cocktail



So for the Patriots Jaguars game, Joanne has some beer can chicken on the grill while I  whipped up a batch of apple crisp and baked a couple loaves of bread.

Plus, with the cool Sept. temps rolling in, it is time to reintroduce the official Nanepashemet cocktail of autumn..... Seagrams VO and Apple Cider with a little nutmeg and cinnamon, preferably served in a Masons Jar.

The Pats are up 10 to 3 in the 2nd qtr, and I am also on my 2nd.

Home Course

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Your MOAM Fix

Lots of Peeps have been emailing me, leaving voicemails, messaging lately.

The consistent theme on all of these feeble attempts to communicate with the MOAM is a pathetic inquiry into what particular circumstances have been occupying my time lately.

Since I don't blog half as much as I used to, there is a part of me that comes close to sympathizing with the agony that ordinary Peeps must feel when they can't gain solace or inspiration by constantly observing and emulating my latest moves.

And since I am a MOAM of extraordinary compassion for lesser Peeps, Ive decided to share with you a bit of my latest mundane, yet extremely intriguing, day to day activities.

Last night, Joanne and I went to the Warwick Cinema in downtown Marblehead to see a showing of "Black Mass".... the story of  the South Boston criminal, Whitey Bulger, starring Johhny Depp.  Peeps... this is no freaking sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean,  Depp was terrifying as the ruthless thug, and the Boston scenes and characterizations were interesting and believably accomplished.

I've always had a soft spot for Billy Bulger, the Massachusetts Senate President and brother to Whitey.   I feel that he was an effective leader during a tumultuous period, but his legacy will always be eclipsed by the fact that we was Whitey's brother.  I've met and been in his company several times and have a fondness for a man who would not wilt under the pressures of a liberal Massachusetts establishment that was threatened by his populist successes.

Billy's characterization in Black Mass was well done, yet I feel came short of the depth and complexity of the man and his public conundrums.

After the theater, we headed over to the Boston Yacht Club for a Friday night dinner.   The BYC is the best of the yacht clubs in Marblehead in my opinion... solely because thy had the insight yet incredible misjudgment to accept your MOAM as a member.   The Commodore Prime Rib cut, served by Kasandra, the pretty young waitress from Springfield,  didn't disappoint.  After a couple of Jameson Irish night caps, Friday night concluded rather successfully.

This morning, despite a case of sciatica that has been ravaging the MOAM's lower extremities for the past week, I hoped on the Ttek Domane Road Bike and pedaled the 10.8 miles to son, Mike's Beverly Farms house. Mike was psyched to have gotten nice price to remove a couple of lumbering pines in his yard, and he and Pam were preparing to go to Conn. for a wedding or something.   I moved on and rode the 6,2 miles to Katelyn's house in Wenham.

This Sciatica case has me baffled.   No pain pushing on the road bike, but standing around is close to unbearable... even for a stiff upper lib MOAM like myself.   Kate and Brady drove me and the bike in their SUV to Manchester where we took a look at the totally cool 1830's vintage map of the US that they have recovered from their Wenham house renovation.   We went over to Essex, where a antique map expert blew us away with his understanding and interpretation of the may based upon his knowledge of American History, and the way that the map gave away its historical age by the territory names that it portrayed.   It may be valuable if it can be meticulously restored.

So then Kate and Brady drove me as far as the Beverly Salem Bridge where I got out and pedaled the five miles back home to Marblehead.

So that's it for now, Peeps.  Other stuff might have happened, but Ill leave that up to your fantasies and pathetic imagination.


Thursday, September 24, 2015