Sea Scout Ship 41 Winner of Mid West Region

Congratulations! Ship 41 Sea Scouts with their research into the environmental impact of improperly disposed of oil filters are winners of the Midwest area award of $4,500.00 for the Interlux Waterfront Challenge. The development of a hand operated mechanical filter crusher persuaded the judges that we were truly winners. For details of the challenge go to scoutswaterfrontchallenge.blogspot.com 

Stay tuned for details of the check ($$) presentation ceremony. Details of the award can be seen here:

http://www.boatingindustry.com/news/2011/10/28/interlux-announces-2011-waterfront-challenge-winners/

Sea Scout Flagship Splashed

At last "Intrepid" is splashed at Riverfront Yacht. It's been 14 months since we brought the boat from the Naval Academy at Annapolis . Sunday the Sea Scouts plan to sail the boat to Lorain and it's place at the end of G Dock at Spitzer Marina.

While at the yacht service center we had an opportunity to discuss the Sea Scout project with the Interlux Waterfront Challenge with Rob Morley, owner. Rob was most appreciative to receive a "Used Oil" decal. 

Sea Scouts to Submit "Rolling Tide" to Guinness World Records

At the suggestion of an ardent fan of Sea Scout Ship 41, "Rolling Tide" is going to be submitted to the Guinness World Records organization.  We are going to research which category it might fall under and submit an application.

Above is a picture of  "Rolling Tide" heading home after the Great Lake Erie Boat Float competition in which it won Most Artistic Design Award.  Stay tuned for the next appearance of this unique Sea Scout vessel, the Bay Village Bicentennial Parade on October 10, 2010.

Sea Scouts Winners at Plastic Recycling Awareness Event

Congratulations Sea Scout Ship 41, winner of the Best Artistic (read Creative) Design Award at the Great Lake Erie Boat Float.  The event was sponsored by the Metro Parks and the Cleveland Natural History Museum to high light responsible disposal of plastic waste.

The photo above shows part of the crew moving "Rolling Tide", made from over 500 Tide bottles, across the beach to the start line at the waters edge. (Be sure to watch the video below.)

Final float (race) instructions were given by Captain Charles Moore, founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation as "Rolling Tide" patiently sits at the waters edge.

And they were off, as you see from the above video "Rolling Tide" was out of the starting gate very quickly and was easily in the lead with 2/3 of the course still to do.

Then at the halfway mark the wind picked up and it was very difficult to keep "Rolling Tide" on course. Our driver, Nate, did a valiant job but eventually handed over to Gabe who brought the vessel back to the beach at the back of the pack in time for the awards ceremony. 

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The crew, with Nate holding the trophy for the Most Artistic (read Creative) Design. Well done Sea Scouts.

 Interested in learning more about joining Sea Scouts? Just give us a free call using Google Voice, looking forward to hearing from you.

Rolling Tide Sea Trials a Big Success for Sea Scouts.

Image via Wikipedia

Labor Day saw the scouts busy putting the final touches to Rolling Tide. As you see below 25 feet lengths of Tide bottles were laid out and the vessel rolled over them as they were secured to the frame.

The launch of Rolling Tide occurred in front of a crowd of curious onlookers. Being Labor Day we had a large number of members atBay Boat Club all asking us what we were up to.  Everyone was most enthusiastic and wished us all the best. Good promotion opportunity for Sea Scouts.

Once in the water Rolling Tide performed above and beyond all expectations.  It floated well and could even be turned in the water by the operators.

We did find however that with only one operator, Rolling Tide went a lot faster,obviously the formula: buoyancy x rotational speed is inversely proportional to weight is in play here. Watch the video below to see a demonstration of just how fast the vessel can move.

 To learn more about Sea Scout Ship 41 email or just use Google Voice up above.

Sea Scouts Ready to hit the Waves.

 This is the last load of Tide bottles delivered to our float boat building site.  Our many thanks to the DCO Department Leader at the P&G Lima plant. for assisting us in obtaining these these Tide bottles.

Now literally, "Rolling Tide" is ready for sea trials and then on to the competition. Sea Scout Ship 41 plans on  launching the vessel off the beach at Bay Boat Club on Labor Day afternoon. You can watch our activity on the club web cam. Since this is likely to be a very busy time with plenty of boating activity our launch will draw stares and questions from the curious. As Mr. Gash said, (this will be)"A good opportunity to highlight our program".

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.

Sea Scouts enter Great Lakes Boat Float 2010

During these summer evenings when a passing thunderstorm makes boating imprudent the Sea Scouts have been busy designing their entry in the 2010 Great Lakes Boat Float .  Last year we won "Best use of Recycled Materials" Award and this year we are going for speed.

The initial thought was to incorporate a paddle wheel into the design.

The question arose how would we power the wheels? Then the bright idea!

Mr. Gash suggested, why not design it like a hamster wheel but powered by Sea Scouts.

Speed!

Well, what do you think?  What diameter should it be and how wide should it be for stability?  How many Tide bottles do we need to collect? 

Any thoughts? 

Stay tuned as the Sea Scouts from Ship 41 solve these issues 

For Sea Scouts it is Not All Work and No Play.

Well, it did require some work.  Richard Gash, the Skipper, said the Sea Scouts spent 30 minutes cleaning up the corner of Sptizer Lakeside Marina that always collects the detritus that washes into the marina but then it was off tubing. With the temperature in the 90's and little wind what else are you going to do?

The 300 H.P. behind our 27' Trophy, "Irish Wake", had no problem pulling the boys.

Ohio Marinas Request Sea Scout Flotsam Scoop

The flotsam scoop, designed by Sea Scout Ship 41, is again in demand as  the boating season in Ohio heats up. The Ohio Sea Grant has ordered 20 scoops to be handed out as part of the Ohio Clean Marina program.  Over 50 flotsam scoops are in operation cleaning up Ohio's waterways.

Gabriel cleans up debris floating at Lorain Sailing & Yacht
Club as part of the Sea Scout service project.

Ohio State University Research Foundation

The OSU Research Foundation purchased 21 flotsam scoops with federal grant dollars for the Ohio Clean Marinas Program (OCMP). The scoops were delivered to the Ohio department of Natural Resources storage building in Port Clinton, Ohio. Colleen Wellington, associate director of OCMP, will distribute the scoops to marinas throughout Ohio.

Each scoop was tagged with a waterproof label with the Sea Scout logo and our contact information. Who knows, we may have marinas contacting us to learn more about the Sea Scout program and how it can attract young boaters.

Emerald Necklace Marina Receives Scoop

Friday, August 29, 2008 saw the latest model of the Sea Scout Ship 41 Interlux Waterfront Challenge "flotsam scoop" hand carried to Joe Anderson, manager of the Emerald Necklace Marina. Joe was delighted to receive the scoop and said he would put it to use the next morning when the park service people come by to do clean up.

Flotsam Scoop 1.01

The Flotsam Scoop 1.0 is back in the shop at Mansfield Structural for modifications. The latest "improvements" include a clamshell to assist in the removal of larger pieces of driftwood and debris. Vern, a certified welder and class A fabricator, designed a roller arrangement that would allow the clamshell to be opened and closed by sliding a lever up and down the handle. This basic mechanism is show in the short video. The Sea Scouts came up with the clamshell suggestion after touring the Army Corp of Engineers

dredging operation on the Cuyahoga River. The dredge, Clyde, used a clamshell to remove silt washed down from upstream to deepen the shipping channel to allow freighters to bring iron ore to the steel mills. Army engineer, Vito, told us that for every inch of draft lost by the big ore freighters cost the companies $100,000.