Keithbrad80

Oh ya! Ours was just about 24 hours long that ended with a dip in the Arctic Ocean. It was a really good time and I’m glad I did it!

Also, I earned one of the most coveted titles in the US navy, the Bluenose!

Hello again everyone, im not even really sure where to start with this one but I’m finally back in nome after 45 days above the Arctic circle. We made it to the 82nd and collected nearly 10tb of geophysical data! The weather was harsh right from the beginning and we were breaking ice pretty much the entire time. Our models showed a decrease in the ice from the time we began but they were all wrong and as a result the gear would often break and need repairs. Just about every day we pulled the gear out at least once and we averaged 18 to 20 hour work days every day for the duration of the trip, it was exhausting but very fun! the chow in the galley was excellent three hot meals a day and we never really ran out of the good food, lettuce was gone a few weeks ago but I certainly can’t complain about the food. A lot of played ping pong to pass the time and I’ll tell you what, I got pretty damn good! The crew took it very seriously lol. I was a pretty junior scientist on the cruise but I’m coming home with tons of data with the goal of scouring the ocean floor in look of glacier movement from the last ice age. The way our geophysics worked was a single gun array consisting of two air guns that would let off a 180 bar blast every 15 seconds, mean while we had a 200m hydrophone streamer being pulled the ship to record seismic reflections from deep below the sea floor. I feel that some of our mistakes need to be mentioned, we had a guy working on one of the guns one night when it unexpectedly fired three feet from his face. It blew him backwards and almost over board but thankfully he made a full recovery and was able to continue working after a few days rest. Some of the pictures I’m including are of the ice at the 75 (which got much worse by the 82nd) the air gun array on deck and a little bit of northern lights we saw about a week ago. Thanks again for reading! Bradley

Hello Everyone! the time has come! Here’s a picture from the fan tail as we say good bye to Seward Alaska, next stop Nome. Bradley

Check out this windlass!

Hello again everyone, The day has finally come! We go underway tomorrow morning and today we spent the day setting up our staterooms and getting our gear unloaded. This has been a dream come true for me so far, I really can’t explain how incredible it has been for me. I even got to sit at the helm for a moment, and thankfully the food is good! At least for now I’m not sure how great it will be a week before getting home lol. There are public computers on board and so I will be able to make regular updates about the cruise. here’s the Bow from the vans we took to get to the docks: here’s the view from the fantail: my office: Gadget the dog: and Me at the helm: Thank you all for the kind words of encouragement, I’ll keep you all update as we get underway and out to sea! Bradley

Hello again everyone, I’m here in Anchorage about to conclude my self quarantine period before heading to the ship. Of course there has to be some drama before a work trip can really get started. I landed in Anchorage on Saturday and pretty much right away tested positive for COVID… “How’s that possible?” I thought, I’m vaccinated, I wear my mask, social distance and self quarantined for a week before leaving, it really was a total surprise. Either way I tested positive and Silkuliaq crew told me I wouldn’t be allowed to board, unless I got two consecutive negative tests and was asymptomatic for one week. I took another test on Monday and got a negative result, I honestly couldn’t believe it. At this point I had no idea what was going on in my body with this virus, false positives almost never happen and false negatives happen almost 20 percent of the time. I took another test on Thursday and to my amazement it came back negative. The doctor told me with these two tests it’s almost guaranteed that I don’t have it so I’ve been cleared the ship and am ready to go! The next leg of the journey is traveling from Anchorage to Seward Alaska to meet with the ship and the rest of the crew. Here’s a photo from my room: thanks for reading, my next update should be pictures of the ship and the crew! Bradley

Hello everyone, I haven’t had any time for months to work on any of my models unfortunately, one reason or another has kept me out of my shop but my latest distraction has me most excited. In April I got an email from a professor of mine inviting me to take part in an Arctic research cruise. It was a no brainer to say yes and today I finally got my plane tickets and my bags are almost packed. I leave in two weeks and thought it would be fun to share with you all my trip above the 80th parallel north. We will be traveling by ship, specifically the RV Silkuliaq (Silcooliaq), a class 5 polar ship. From the UAF website: R/V Sikuliaq, pronounced [see-KOO-lee-auk], is a 261-foot oceanographic research ship capable of bringing scientists to the ice-choked waters of Alaska and the polar regions. Sikuliaq, one of the most advanced university research vessels in the world, is able to break ice up to 2.5 feet thick. Constructed at Marinette Marine Corporation, a shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin, Sikuliaq is homeported in Seward, Alaska, at UAF's Seward Marine Center. Below is a 3D rendering of the ship to get a better idea of the payload on board. The RV Silkuliaq was built to study a range of scientific disciplines but we will be utilizing their geophysical applications to study the sea floor and earthquakes. The ship was built to house 24 scientists as well as a crew of 20, I’ll be joining a group of scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks as well as other students and scientists from different parts of the world. Im certainly towards of the bottom of the totem pole here as I’m still pretty junior in my field, this trip should help me get into an doctorate program next year, and with the research I’m helping with on board it should definitely help my career. This isn’t my first stint at sea but will be my first trip to the arctic and I’ve never lived in the cold like this so lets hope its not to much of a shock, if interested I could post pictures (depending on internet on board) periodically of the ship at sea and life on board. Thanks for reading, if any of you have been that far north and have some advise I’m all ears. 8 weeks at sea coming up! Also I’m not going to be posting any thing specific about the research were conducting or our exact location at the time. Loose lips sink ships! Bradley

congrats bitao, your work is some of the most incredible I have ever seen. I am very much looking forward to following along on your next build! Bradley

Minwax makes a good pre-stain. I think it comes in a red can, it makes your stain much more even. Good luck! Bradley

Hi George, excellent work so far! If I remember correctly I drilled the hawse holes parallel to the centerline, it was a pretty tough hole to drill properly but that’s how I read it from the plans. Everything looks great! Bradley

It’s likely the study is still ongoing and their conclusions haven’t been made yet, because of this the information will continue to be sensitive until the report is written. They don’t want private citizens interfering with a study that a university likely paid a lot to do, so it makes that only other institutions can access that information, you may have to wait until the study is published. Bradley

I have the same set of calipers, they work great! Bradley

PVA wood glue is usually the go to, also known as wood glue. It comes in several colors depending on the color you want it to be when dry. White PVA wood glue dries clear. There are lots of discussions on glue and the different types here at MSW. On the main screen do a search for ‘glue’ and you should find help with application and types of wood glue.

Wow, this to me is incredible. From the selection of wood to shiny brass, even the fact that it really plays a little time when wound up is amazing, what kind of wood did you use? It looks maybe a burl? The veneer you used on the body must be paper thin, I count potentially 5 different wood species? Incredible work as always. Bradley