Blower (Mailbox) Construction for Our New Boat

SEAHUNTER said:
Hi Guy's
From what I have experienced all of the stability comes from the bearings that your blowers hinge on and the pins you lock them down with. The main other weakness I have found is in the welds. All of the welds need to be welded on both sides and even then I need to completely recheck them and fix all stress cracks every twenty work days. I run mine about 2000 rpm's and sometimes as high as 2500 rpm's. If you dont have to run them that hard you may not have as much maintainance. It is cheaper to maintain them than to rebuild them. We have started doing twice as much or as thick as we think we need in order to cut down on down time. With the crew you guys have you will get this all figured out pretty quick and I think you will come up with some unique new solutions that I want to know all about so I can incorporate it in my systems.
Best of luck to you all, you are off to a great start.
Seahunter

I would be glad to provide any usefull guidance on welding design, inspection, or repair. Great job guys!

Stan Dilcher
Staff Materials & Processes Engineer (welding and NDT specialist)
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (F-22 fighter, C-130 transport, and others)
 

Divewrecks,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for your kind offer we will keep you in mind.....

Chagy.....
 

Scuba,RGecy,and crew...
Just started looking at this thread and MAN what a mindblower...You guys are doing what many of us,including myself,have been plotting for years...GREAT looking boat ya'll have, and a steal at 6K!!! Fuel prices are a pain in the tootski right now, but what you saved over a diesel powered boat should help offset the cost...Got the 1715 needle stuck in a vein 2 years ago and can't wait to get down there and join in the party...reading and research has been done, it's time to do it!! Planning on giving the ATL the heave ho next year and relocating to Ft.Pierce (God willing)...until then,BEST OF LUCK to all of you and GOOD HUNTING!!
 

Blacksheep, keep that attitude and we'll see you here in no time. It's been a lot of work, but well worth every minute.

Today, we got the hookah rig mounted and placed, the bottom paint finished short of a few spots where they couldn't move the blocks, and the blower pin holes drilled out, all pins are in place. :D Brad and I called it quits early today to celebrate independance day with a few beers. Robert and Darren will be down tomorrow to help finish the transom and swim platform, and we'll splash Friday morning and head to Sebastian. I cannot wait to be on the water and close to the action. Word has it Roy Volker just put his boat in at Finn's too, and Fisheye is there already, so we'll be in good company down there.

A week from now, we'll be posting pics of our finds! :D

Jason
 

The boat looks great. I wish I could be there this weekend to see it in the water. I hope you have lots of luck with it.

Lee
 

Best wishes and good luck from this side of the pond as well - wish I could be there to see it!! Mike.
 

We got some serious work done on the swim platform today, as well as some more cleanup and preparation for launch. More details (and maybe some pics of her in the water tomorrow.

Jason

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Am I looking at this wrong?
How can the Mailboxes be lowered with the dive platform there?
The boat looks great,you guys have been working your butts off on that baby.
 

Chagy said:
Divewrecks,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for your kind offer we will keep you in mind.....

Chagy.....

No problem bro! Look forward to meeting you at the Treasure Expo if you make it. Maybe you guys could anchor close in and Tnet members could swim out for a happy hour Friday or Saturday. I'll spring for the suds if yall are game.

Stan
 

It wouldnt be a good idea to anchor a treasure boat near there as that area is under lease with heartland treasure quest.
 

I don't believe a social gathering would constitute an infringement on someone else's lease. As long as blowers are up I would think a few sips of grog could go down....
 

The Conquistador, the newly outfitted salvage vessel of Aquatic Research & Recovery Group, made its maiden voyage today, leaving the fuel dock at Cape Marina just an hour ago. It should be moored at Fins in Sebastian in a few hours. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Splash! Tom Gidus
 

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Fantastic job guy's that is something that y'all should be proud of. Now take a day off, then get out there and find some of that good stuff. Today was a good day for her maiden voyage 7/7/07 ;D ;D
 

Great job! The boat looks great in the water. Best of luck to all of you.

Lee
 

We made it to Sebastian, and our heading out this morning to blow some holes. We stopped and blew one yesterday and the mailboxes functioned perfectly...the transmissions were a different story. We were up until midnight working on the starboard tranny, but she's ready for action now.

We'll post an udate and some more pics when we get back in. We decided not to dock at Fins, found a nicer marina that's more live-aboard freindly, so we docked there. More later.

Jason
 

Just interested,What transmissions are you using? JD
 

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