What's new

12/30/00	SNOW!!! Added some pictures to the photo page
12/16/00	The 1st bridge stanchion is up, as well as the forms for a few more. Added pictures to the photo page and to my Fire Department page.
12/15/00	Started adding an index to all the pages in the site.
11/29/00	Added about a dozen pictures to the "boat graphic" page. Minor changes throughout the site.
11/28/00	Added 2 pictures of my table, almost finished. When time permits I post the story behind the Lobsters capture and demise (hint, we didn't get to eat it).
11/13/00	Boat is hauled out and done for the season.
November	Table I am building to showcase my "mounted" lobster (14.9 pounds)
10/06/00	We finally got a digital camera. So expect to see current pictures throughout the web site starting today.
08/12/00	Updated pictures # 19 and 27 on the boat tour page
07/2000	N.O.A.A. and the National Weather Service have finally added a picture of the new Ambrose Light Station at HTTP://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.phtml?$station=alsn6
06/26/2000	Added a page for my fire department, Edison Division of Fire. This will be an ongoing project, check back every couple of weeks.
	Added Belmar Beach web cams (includes Manasquan Inlet).


	This will be the last progress report for the spring launch. Thanks for reading
05/16/2000	New window ordered, Port side will be closed in temporarily to use the boat this weekend.
05/14/2000	Canceled today's dive due to the window problems.
05/13/2000	Top sides get waxed and the windows get tinted. This is when we find out the "glass experts" didn't cut the large side window correctly. A bad cut on the bottom hits a nail and sends a crack up the window.
05/12/2000	High tide is at 4 pm and the boat is in the slings by 2 pm. Strong easterly winds push extra water into the river so we get to "splash" a half hour early. Back in our slip by 6 pm, just in time for the rain & "thin crust" from Pete & Elda's.
05/11/2000	Windows in, platform on, ladder almost finished, boot stripe repainted, bottom done, almost ready to go in.
05/10/2000	Well the windows finally came in yesterday and today the glass man broke the main one cutting it. Go figure.
05/09/2000	The swim platform is 90% finished and is going on tomorrow. Ray finished up the ladder brackets and supports so we can use the old ladder off the first boat. Side windows are still not in. 3 weeks late now. Last week we had trouble getting the oil changer to pump cold 40 weight oil due to the mid 40 degree temps, this week it is a chore to get paint on the boat before it dries due to the heat wave. Steady 15-25 winds today made for an interesting "boot stripe" application. The pollen doesn't help either, lots of sniffling and sneezing going on with the land breezes. Still going in the water Friday afternoon.

05/01/2000	Things are moving along, albeit slowly. We "recovered" my swim platform last week. It seems the Surf Shop I dropped the platform off at last year (to be "finished") just up and moved! They left my platform outside the empty building, been sitting there since September. I knew it wasn't a good sign when I first walked into the office and saw a "landscaper" style garbage can overflowing with Rolling Rock bottles. Anyway, the platform should be on when we hit the water, New windows are ordered for the port side and should be in this week. The new raft was purchased last week and will be installed today or tomorrow. It is a Viking 8 man "SOLAS A" inflatable raft.
04/21/2000	Doing lots of work on the boat. Some things are going well and some things are not. Seems like half the items we touch break! My guess, probably 50% or more of the components that make up a boat are not designed for the environment that they are in, e.g. salt water and electrical currents in salt water (electrolysis). Anyway, we are working everyday getting ready. The broken side window is a big project and I finally got all the parts I need for the new exhaust elbows. I'll have more on the exhaust saga later, when the pictures are developed. As in the past, most of the work and or improvements are for the overall benefit of the boat, myself or passengers. With many of the improvements unseen or the real benefit not desired to be used. Example, I just sold the two life rafts that were on the boat and I will be replacing them with a single 8 man offshore "SOLAS A" inflatable raft. This raft will have a "50 miles or more" from shore rating (SOLAS A). The two manual E.P.I.R.B.'s will also be replaced with a Category 1 406 mhz G.P.I.R.B. (more on that later).
03/27/2000	Earlier this week, state DOT crews removed the former Tides Bar & restaurant building from the Neptune side of the Route 35 bridge over the Shark River, in preparation for the construction of a new fixed-span bridge. The new four-lane span will bring thousands of motorists daily past the new Belmar Marina, with both expected to be completed in the year 2001.[The Coast Star, Mike Jones Photo]
03/17/2000	There will minimal changes to the web site for the next two months as it is time to work on the boat. The only changes will be to the schedule, I'll update that as I get confirmations.
03/13/2000	Updated the dive schedule, only in the PDF file though.
02/17/2000	Removed the "Human Click" option from all the pages, it was slowing down the loading of pages.