Daysi Tragesser

Some images on Power boat plans free

One of the most important lessons I have learned in life, is that everyone has a interesting story, if you stop talking yourself long enough to listen, and boaters always seem to have more interesting stories than most. This is the first, of a intermittent series of stories about some of my clients.

So let's go meet Steve Padar. This is Steve's backyard, and his boats. He has, a small Scout center console, and in the background, his Grady White walk around. He had a third boat on blocks in the back yard, but I suspect in order to maintain martial bliss, he was advise of the right answer to the question of "When is that boat leaving the yard?", and it is now gone. Do you see that rounded structure to the right, that is a telescope dome. I met Steve when he requested a little help with installing a Raymarine weather receiver for the Grady White, although he was more than technically capable of doing this himself. 

When I first visited Steve's house, and while walking up to the front door, my keen powers of observation told me there is something different about this house.

And also in his backyard, you quickly develop the opinion, that Steve is doing something more than trying to receive blacked out football games on the sly.

So here is Dr. Steve Padar, from Sarasota Florida, who in real life is a practicing neurosurgeon, and he graciously allowed me to see his metaphorical man cave, and what a technological wonder it is! 

Everywhere you look, there is something to see. A full wall of floor to ceiling books, and racks of equipment everywhere. Behind this equipment wall is a long desk with two very large flat screen monitors, and a half dozen computers under it.

Another large desk is packed with lots of ham radio gear.

Wiring galore everywhere. These bundles are the feeds from the exterior antennas. 

And lots of Ethernet connections tying systems together.

So what is this room all about? In addition to being a ham radio enthusiast, one of several of Steve's hobbies is the acquisition, and direct down loading of weather photographs from NOAA's satellites, and this is not a trivial task. The pictures below are from the GOES 12, and 13 satellites. These are geostationary  satellites parked over the equator at 75 degrees W (GOES 13), and 60 W (GOES 12), and they were being downloaded as I watched.  

These photos were downloaded on Sunday, September 5th around noon EST. In the full frame picture, you can see hurricane Igor, and behind it, you can see the tropical depression, that will become hurricane Julia. My camera does not do the quality of these pictures justice.

Above is a better view from GOES 12. You can see Igor clearly, and Julia to be, is just off the African coast. Although it takes substantial technical acumen to receive these photos from a geostationary satellite, Steve's equipment can also receive photos from weather satellites moving in orbit. This takes another level of technology. You need software that will provide you with Mr. Kepler's orbital data predictions, the antenna axes kinematics have to be programmed to intercept the track, and match it. The satellite signal has to be programmed into the system to receive the signal, and if this wasn't enough, as the satellite approaches you, and then moves away, the signal undergoes a Doppler effect that shifts the frequency, and the receiver has to compensate for this shift. This is a very simplified explanation of a very complex process.

Steve's equipment can receive frequencies from 50 kilohertz to 2.4 Gigahertz, although to be technically correct, he can't receive every frequency in this range, but he does handle a good swath of it. Amazing, and technologically stunning to say the least, and all of this hidden in plain sight in a lovely bay front home. 

We're not through yet. As if this wasn't enough, Steve's other hobbies are travel, boating, diving, and photography, and he excels at all four. He has traveled all over the world with his camera, from the Antarctic peninsula, to the North Pole and many locations in between. Diving in Truk lagoon, the Galapagos Islands, the Australian Great Barrier Reef, and many other exotic locations, and taking magnificent photos along the way.

I mentioned that Steve visited the North Pole, something that most of us will never do. He traveled there on the Russian icebreaker the I/B Yamal. This is the pride of the Russian icebreaker fleet. It is just shy of five hundred feet long, and is powered by not one, but two nuclear reactors, and weighs nearly one million pounds. This ship will crunch some real ice, and real ice had to be crunched to get to the pole. Only about a dozen trips by ship have ever been made.

As a footnote to the story, I was looking for a picture of the I/B Yamal, and you are looking at it above. The picture was taken Aug 3rd, 2001 while in route to the North Pole. In the picture, of the not easy to get certificate below, there are three notable things about it. The location is 90 degrees north, you can only get it if you have been swimming at the North Pole, and it is dated August 5th 2001. So Steve is actually on the I/B Yamal at the time the picture was taken. 

Now you have met Steve, doctor, neurosurgeon, boater, traveler, photographer, diver, and intensely curious about the world around him. I know he will demur, but he is a modern day renaissance man, and an extraordinary, and gracious person to spend time with. All of us have a bucket list. I think Steve's bucket is really a fifty five gallon drum and still mostly full. I am working on being a better listener, and thank you very much Steve for the time you spent with me, it was most enlightening, and pleasurable.  

You can see some of Steve's terrific photography here. You may need to download the Photodex.com viewer to see the shows. Check out the Antarctica, and Truk Lagoon slide shows, but there is much more to enjoy here.

You can learn more about the Ice Breaker Yamal here.

The Photograph of the I/B Yamal is from Wikipedia commons, and was taken by Wolfratz

Make Your Travel Dream Come Correct With Wooden Boat Plans

Building a boat is a massive job for 1 who has no expertise in wood operating at all. Nonetheless, several vessel plans are now becoming sold on the net by skilled watercraft builders. Designs differ, from the simplest towards one of the most advanced blueprints. Wooden boat plans will be the most effective choices for newcomers to obtain started on a boat creating project. There are many forms of wood that can be utilized to construct your initial boat for example mahogany, merbau, Keruing, iroko and okoume. Even so, 1 of the ideal and most inexpensive supplies that you just simply can use is plywood. Plywood is extremely straightforward to manage and just is not tough to reduce into just about any needed pattern or size. It goes effectively with epoxy which will be used to fill the boat's seams. Most watercraft builders can execute on the material alone having a great deal of ease. They do not have a tough time with regards to assembly either.
Plywood for your wooden boat plans is just not challenging to find. Nearby hardware shops have these and are sold at much far more inexpensive expenses compared to fiberglass. At present, the boats which you see in most hobby centers or schools are truly made of plywood. Wooden boat plans that make use of this material are really simple to comprehend and comply with. When operating on your watercraft, make certain that the boat strategy is laid out in an place so you are going to be capable of refer to the guide every now right after which. As soon as you've all of the materials and tools, you are able to begin working around the wood pieces which will make up the boat. If you will find pieces that do not match collectively, by no means force them. It really is advisable to take your time in measuring the supplies just before you decide to cut them. Check the boat method cautiously for those who have developed any blunders or if you have overlooked any information on certain actions. This normally takes location once you rush your project, so don't do so. It requires time to finish this project especially if you're a beginner. In case you happen to be enduring time constraints, the longer it'll take for the watercraft to be finished also.
When utilizing plywood in wooden boat plans, take note that this material should be layered and covered to preserve the wood's strength. There is certainly also marine level plywood that is a bit considerably more costly than the typical builders' grade. It'll also carry out extremely nicely for the building. Seal all of the gaps of one's boat with epoxy, as this truly may be the extremely very best material to hold the pieces of plywood together. This truly is component in the common vessel building approach known as stitch and glue. Pay focus to particular surfaces just like the bow and make specific that your seals are all tight in all segments. The three point mating surfaces generally are one in the most challenging to seal, so make sure you check these locations cautiously. If you finish your wooden vessel, you have got one fantastic investment that will last for any actually extended time.