Sea Scouts Make Splash in Local Paper

Skipper Gash had a news release published in the local Westlake/Bay Village Observer regarding the "Rolling Tide" boat we are building for the Great Lake Erie Boat Float. Skipper is thinking we'll be inundated with kids who see what we are up to and want to join Sea Scouts.

With a stiff NE wind blowing and 4+ waves at our meeting we concentrated on building "Rolling Tide". Our boat float build is progressing slowly.  We have alternated the larger Tide bottles keeping them in a horizontal alignment so that the boat will roll in a straight line. At this point Mr. Gash said this is his major concern.

Between the aluminum rings we will use orange safety fencing and wrap strings of Tide bottles to give added flotation. Hopefully we can begin sea trials next week.

Sea Scouts Start Construction of "Rolling Tide"

A well thought out construction plan helped to rapidly build the skeleton of "Rolling Tide", a vessel that is to be the Sea Scout Ship's entry in the Great Lake Erie Boat Float II highlighting the use of recycled plastics.  

Above Gabriel is seen threading the Tide bottles on the skeleton up to a point 45 degrees from the first cross 2x4 member.  The cross members  were bolted on using 1/4 x 3 1/2" carriage bolts. 

Darkness descended before the skeleton was completed but a great start had been made.  Skipper Gash complemented the crew and said, "This sure looks like a winner, maybe not the fastest craft but certainly the most unique".

Sea Scouts Vessel "Rolling Tide"

The Sea Scout of Ship 41 moved the design of "Rolling Tide" from the drawing board to prototype.

The hamster wheel design for the Lake Erie Boat Float Competition was put to the test.  A rough mock up was fabricated out of discarded aluminum hoops and Tide bottles. As you see from the picture below it floated.

Not only did it float, it also had forward momentum as Nate, shown inside the wheel, acted as operator. Now it is on to building the boat with additional hoops and bottles. We anticipate having the need for three operators - training will start next week.

"Rolling Tide" as it is now known, will be the Sea Scouts main entrance in the Lake Erie Boat Float competition at Edgewater Park on September 11, 2010.  The event is to highlight the use of recyclable plastics.   

The Sea Scout entry will be made from Tide bottles which are made of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and have a recycling number of 2.  

This material is readily accepted by recycling companies and all the bottles used in "Rolling Tide" will be recycled.

Perspectives on Youth Sailing

A really interesting discussion has recently taken place on a forum called Sailing Scuttlebutt about youth sailing as it pertains to club racing.  It seems that 90% of the youth are ignored in favor of the top racers. Eventually the 90% lose interest and drop out of boating altogether.

Alexander Kovell believes he has the answer.

 " learned to love boats and sailing through Sea Scouts. We didn't race much, maybe five races in six years (including a phenomenal run in Swiftsure!). But we sailed one to three nights a week, we broke things, we learned to fix things and diagnose problems. We learned leadership, seamanship, and how to work in a team. We learned life skills, not sailing skills."


The points raised in the forum is a must read for us particularly as we are seeking a large influx of new Sea Scouts.