My latest project...aka interesting job site.

[epicxt]

Took on a job demo-ing and re-fitting two staterooms on a working tug boat.
I haven't done a ton of marine jobs, but managed to get my foot in the door on this one which could lead to a lot of future work as this is for a large company with a lot of tugs in their fleet.
Here's a pic of my cut station last weekend (non-typical Seattle winter weather). Might be tough to pick everything out from the cell phone pic.

Unfortunately I haven't been taking a ton of pics, but the next shot is a sample of what the staterooms looked like after demo was mostly finished.

And here's a shot of the bulkheads with the paneling partially complete.

 

[epicxt]

Grr, one photo didn't upload right. Can't seem to mess with the photo using Tapatalk, so I'll try loading it again. Here goes...

 

[Jasonj888]

I love boats and the ocean even though I'm in land-locked North Dakota.

What will the final project be like? Really utilitarian construction, or something a little more high-end? What kind of challenges do you run into working on a boat besides carrying materials down the gangway?

 

[Brice Burrell]

I love boats and the ocean even though I'm in land-locked North Dakota.

What will the final project be like? Really utilitarian construction, or something a little more high-end? What kind of challenges do you run into working on a boat besides carrying materials down the gangway?

I bet it's pretty hard to plumb or level anything. [tongue]

 

[Jasonj888]

Good point on the level issue!

 

[JHuskey]

Never use a level on a boat just square everything thing off the i beams. Also always get permission before you penetrate any floors. If you accidentally drill into a tank you wont be getting anymore jobs! If you do good work and meet deadlines the boats can be a goldmine. When boats are tied up for overhaul they are costing the company money everyday so they are willing to pay to get them back out.

 

[epicxt]

^This!^
The staterooms are directly above the fuel tanks! And yes, level is a relative term. Pretty much just have to make sure the bunks and lockers feel and look right. Not a lot of straight lines to work with.
It'll be a busy weekend for me, but should be able to beat the mechs that are rebuilding the engines.

 

[epicxt]

Oh, and Jason, it's pretty utilitarian on this boat. Not some of my finest work, but a big improvement from what it was.

 

[Jasonj888]

Look forward to seeing the finished project. Wish I was working with you rather than sitting in the snow and ice.

 

[epicxt]

Hah! Yeah, we've been having a super-mild winter here, even by Seattle standards, although the sunny pic was just over last weekend. Enjoy your briskness!

 

[epicxt]

Realized I had started this thread but didn't continue it. Here's some pics of the completed staterooms. Pics aren't great as you can't get a very wide field of vision with an iPhone.

Looks like there's a good chance I'll be starting another larger maybe nicer one next month after it gets back from major repairs in Canada.

 

[Jasonj888]

Nice work. It looks like a really challenging (small) environment to work in, probably tough to carry materials and tools in and out of.

I'm not sure what I was expecting for a working tugboat, but it looks much higher-end than I thought it would.

 

[epicxt]

Well, you gotta keep the crew happy! I think I may have overshot their quality expectations a bit with the cab doors and drawers with solid cvg edge banding (20 dominos in each door) but they only blinked once at the bill.

I'd say the most challenging aspect was when I was doing glue ups in the (unheated) shipyard shop the temps dropped below freezing so I was forced to assemble my glue ups and then run them down to the (heated) boat to cure, then take them back to the shop to finish out. This added a fair amount of time and stress, but managed to finish before they were scheduled to leave (barely)!