[TheForge] grizzly high precision tool room metal lathe

[terry l. ridder]

hello peter;

On Sat, 10 Jan 2009, Peter Fels & Phoebe Palmer wrote:

> Terry:
>
> A ROV that will function at 6000 feet is a hell of an ambitious thing to
> build!
>

they most certainly are. rovs have come a long way in the last several
years. the rovs that were used on the national geographic expedition to
search for jfk's pt-109 in the solomon islands have been replaced by
much leaner and better ones. my brother, who was on the national
geographic expedition to find the jfk's pt-109, has been following the
improvements in rov technology for many years.

>
> Even service on them is sure to be awfully specialized.
>

this is were things have changed in the last several years.
the rovs are more modularized. they also use more off-the-shelf parts
and do not rely on the large number of specialized one-of-a-kind parts.
that have been said, they still are highly specialized. operating the
rovs is not the expensive part of the operation. the expensive part is
paying for the person who does maintain them to be on board just waiting
for the rovs to require maintainance.

> Under that much pressure everything has to be absolutely flawless.
> That's the sort of thing best bought from the folks who give their lives
> to that as a  specialty.
> May i respectfully inquire if you have ever done this sort of thing before?
>

operate a search and recovery operation using 3 ships and rovs? nope
never done it. there is a first time for everything.

>
> The prospect of an inexperienced crew wrestling with a heavy ROV hanging
> on the end of cables on a rolling, pitching deck is frightening. And
> that's the least of it.
>

this is not the discovery channel 'dangerous catch' series.
most of the search and recovery jobs that have been discussed are in the
south pacific. solomon islands, leyte gulf, quadalcanal, tarawa, and
peleiu.

the less 'glamourous' search and recovery operations are in the great
lakes. that is recovering sunken old growth logs. these logs sunk during
lumbering operations in wisconsin, upper michigan, lower michigan,
minnesota, canada. during the 1800s and early 1900s. these logs are not
small fireplace type logs. these logs are 30 to 100 ft long and 3 to 5 ft
in diameter. they have been protected all these years by the extreme
cold and oxygen deprived waters of the great lakes. concerning the great
lakes i do not see us operating in lake superior at anytime in the
immediate future. lake superior is just too unpredictable.

even the log recovery operation i am figuring on 2 - 3 logs per day
maximum. working monday - friday back at home port on the weekends. so
perhaps 10 - 15 logs per week. 40 - 60 logs per month. 240 - 360 logs in
6 months. assuming that the currently negotiated contracts remain steady
that each log recovered is $15,000.00 usd. that gives a gross income of
$3,600,000.00 - $5,400,000.00 usd. i am using the conservative 50 percent
for expenses. fuel, insurance, crew salaries, port fees, etc. that gives
roughly $1,800,000.00 - $2,700,000.00 usd in net income from the log
recovery operations for 6 months of work. there may be additional expenses.

>
> What can you recover from that depth that would possibly pay for the
> endeavor?
>

knowledge. that is what is sought in the first two search and reocvery
operations being discussed and preliminary planning being made.
children of the crew of the usn submarine ss-207 grampus want to know
where it is and just what happened to it during wwii.

the other one is the usn destroyer strong, dd-476.

both of these are in the solomon islands area.

both search and recovery operations will be documented and i am talking
with the history channel, the discovery channel, national geographic,
bbc, etc . about distributing the documentary of the searches.

some searches may just go straight to dvd release.

we are not treasure hunters. there is no gold at the end of the mission.
there are no vast riches.

i am making the assumption that the log recovery operation will be
funding the search and recovery operation for at least a year or two.

>
> Penetrating a warship is difficult enough on the surface.
>

the only thing we are being asked to provide is color video of the
exterior of the ship and debris field. it we by some miracle would find
the ship's bell that would be great.

>
> It's a wonderful, romantic vision, but no business to walk into cold and
> try to learn on the job.
>

i have been told that for nearly 13 yrs that i am broken and damaged
and should be discarded with the rest of the trash. while i am not
use to being dismissed as being useless i try my best to ignore it.

i can afford to learn on-the-job because none of the operations carry
any debt. no debt. owe no one any money. no financing. everything is
owned out right. bought and paid for.

that is one thing that the past 12yrs have taught me. how to live and to
be somewhat content with my situation and position in life without being
in debt.

the debtor is a slave to the lender.

>
> I sorta want to go though..does a mental handicap qualify me?..pf
>
>

-- 
terry l. ridder ><>