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MARCH 1998 NEWSLETTER |
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| We are still on track with our production schedule. Here are some
of the project hi lites for the month.
We received a tremendous gift from Dr. and Mrs. Stephen E. Ambrose. And I mean it came at a good time too. Thanks a lot, come back and visit often! The New Orleans chapter of the Military Order of the World Wars gave us an unsolicited donation of $1,000.00. This is going to pay for the special bronze screws we needed for hull fastening. Thank you very much M.O.W.W.! Bollinger Marine is reworking our propeller. Thank you Boysie Bollinger and crew! If you don't ask Joey Madere to have a look at his wooden strut pattern, you are really missing something. Joey will have it ready for shipment to Buck Algonquin for casting by the time you read this. Talk about old fashioned craftsmanship, unbelievable work, Joey Madere! Karen Reisch and Cherise Grant have been working at the UNO archives digging up the electrical layout plans. Yep, they found them - after several days of digging! Great job ladies! By the way, I've never mentioned the great help we've been getting from Florence Jumonville and Mrs. Windell at the UNO archives. They have been running around getting plans copied for us, and of course they have always rolled out the red carpet when we needed more plans. We just couldn't do our research without their valuable assistance. Thank you! Have I ever mentioned that George Benedetto's company, Jefferson Feed and Seed, produces and mails this newsletter? Well, they do and it is a tremendous donation of time and effort. All I do is rip these newsletters off on the computer, and George's right hand man Lynn does the rest. Thanks Jefferson Feed and Seed! Graham Haddock has volunteered to make the cutter head for the boring bar. I can hear you thinking...what the heck is a boring bar? We have to drill (bore) a hole in the hull for the shaft. The hole will penetrate approximately 18" of wood, and it is very critical! We are talking about a serious drill bit here people, and you don't get it at Ace. Mr. Haddock is making it at Haddock Machine Shop Ltd. (in his backyard). You will be hearing more about this operation. We got one shot at this, it's got to be dead on... The boxcar from Virginia got here on Mardi Gras eve (what timing...). We got a crew together and went to work. Talk about a bunch of kids at Christmas! We got lots of great parts and fittings, including a Higgins telescopic steering system, propeller and shaft, rudder/strut shoe, ramp latches and an original WWII Graymarine diesel engine and twin disc clutch marine gear! Stewart and Stevenson Services sent their truck for the engine and away it went for rebuilding. Jimmy Dubuisson is going to work with Stewart and Stevenson on the rebuild of this machinery. For the day before Mardi Gras, this operation fell together perfectly. Hats off to Masonry Products for allowing us to use their loading dock and forklift to handle the boxcar! Jimmy Dubuisson has been working with L. F. Gaubert on our electrical needs. Did I mention last month U.S. Marine Inc. is fabbing our junction/switch box? Well, they are! Thank you very much. Channel 32, Channel 4, and New Orleans Magazine have been giving us some great coverage. Thanks for getting the word out for us! Paul Glandt (he's the commanding officer of a U.S. Navy Reserve hull repair unit) is working on our engine muffler system. I'll be letting you know how this is going...thank you for tackling this job, Sir! Avondale is still turning and burning on our fuel tanks! Wes Gladhart found our 2-ton Beebe manual spur gear winch for the bow ramp. It's a correct WWII vintage item! We need a handle for it, anybody got one? Thanks, Wes! Mike Campieri found an original Magnesyn compass system! Great piece of detective work Mike, I want a brief on how this thing works. This piece of gear tracked the movements of LCVP's. You see, they didn't trust Marvin and they wanted to keep an eye on him! May still come in handy.... Erston Reisch is assisting with metal prep and prime on a bunch of our pieces parts. Thanks, sir. important important important important important important important
If you are interested in being a part of the weekday crew, please contact Brad Booth. |
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E-Mail: info@higginsboat.org |