the new chassis

This is what it looks like after 2 weeks at the welder, and me painting for 2 days. This is behind the rear wheel and holdup the weight of the bathrom and the black water tank
Which if I can get it to stop leaking will hold 20 gallons .For those not in the know water weighs 8 lbs/gal.

the rotted rear end

This is what the last 4'feet of the frame looked like 2 weeks ago

The Superior Works - Patrick's Blood & Gore: Planes #9 - #11 1/2

The Superior Works - Patrick's Blood & Gore: Planes #9 - #11 1/2
Thank you Mr. Leach for the info .
Today I mailed off a check for 2 more Stanley planes to add to my ever growing collection. I had bid on a stanley 10.5 on the bay weeks ago and came in second ( the story of my life,lol).A few weeks ago I got an e-mail from the seller telling me the deal had fallen through. With all that has been happening over the last month I didn't give it much thought .
While cleaning up emails I noticed it again and contacted the guy. Low and behold he had 2 planes for sale .The 10.5 and a 10
We struck a deal and off went the check. Niether one are in perfect condition .I know the 10.5 has been repaired .I'm not sure about the 10 .I assume its complete
When I get home I'll have a look at them. Clean them up, and sharpen.
The seller asked me if I was a collector or user.I'm not sure .I buy them with the idea that I might use them .But when the time comes I find an electric tool to do the job .So I guess I should catergorize myself as a colector ,user ,dreamer
I .look forward to getting my hands on them and cleaning them up and see what they will do

bird notes

Aside from the usual suspects .I saw a bald eagle today . Vinny and I were driving back from picking up the flooring for the A/S. We stopped at a 4 way stop near the beach when I happened to look up in the air .There just landing on top of a 100ft telephone pole was a mature birds.
Here we were in the middle of a Floridian suburb and there he was perched on the pole surveying what ever there is to his domain .
The waters around Hudson abound with fish .Especially Mullet .I'm sure that's why he was there in the first place

floor repair

I looked and looked and looked .This was the only section of floor that was rotted .Something is going better than expected This is on the street side the 2 holes in the floor are for the refrigerator vent ( right ) and the utilities (left).It appears that the A/C leaked through the wall onto the floor .There is the remnant of the drain hanging out of the inspection hole on the left .

Just barely visible on the left underneath the insulation is the wheel well that had to be remade it to was rotted and the infamous blowout took out much of the rotted sheet metal

2/26

The axle came today @2:00PM .Sent the belly to have new pieces cut. Por-15 on the chassistook 3 hrs . Tomorrow another coat of Por and then we will put on the axle .I hope .

It weighs about 300 lbs.

Multi-tasking

With everything going on with the Globetrotter ,I haven't thought about much else .I have to start thinking about ordering plants for spring .Right now I'm concentrating on new fruit trees .I want to get 5 new trees .I lost my last Belle of Georgia peach last fall so that's one for the list .
I want to get more raspberries the 6 I planted last year are down to 4 .I would also like to add some blackberries and currants
The small fruit will be ordered from L.I. Cauliflower .They have good locally grown plants.
I'll have to Google Henry Leuthart to get a list of his trees .I'm planning on a few more pears and another Asian pear and another apple

things are coming together

No pictures today .I was covered with 40yrs of grime after scraping the chassis and prepping it for paint.I picked up the trailer this AM.The guy that did the welding did a beautiful job .Got a phone call from metal fabricator , the metal we need for the belly is in .I'm going to run those pieces over to him in the AM. Then start painting the frame with POR-15 .Gets a lot of positive press .will have to see how it holds up
Checked the holding tank to day .It Leaks .I hope its nothing serious .I want to have the belly on by the end of the week. Otherwise I'm not out of here by next week.
W J Mills and Co called ,the cushions need some final measurement and the gauchos are here not there .They are also in about 20 pieces.
The cork flooring arrives on Weds. I have to put this in before every thing goes back into the Globetrotter.
There will be some late nights this week

Random shots

Not all Florida is a parking lot. This was on a beach in Yankeetown. Nothing but beach and mangroves for miles.
If you zoom in on the real estate sign you'll see its not cheap either. 25x100 for $160,000.This lot was at the end of the business district on Cedar Key .It reminded me a lot of the east end when I was a kid.Sort of a mix of Montauk,Greenport,and New Suffolk.
I could spend my winters here .
We stopped to talk to some guy who was loading up his flats boat to head south because it was 38 that morning.He told me that only certain people can live in Cedar Key --Yea?
They have to enjoy eating clams ,fishing and drinking beer.I said that I would have no problem with any of that .I told him that I had to give one of them up and it wasn't fishing!!

This is one of the 42 yr old gauchos(couches/beds) .We decided to strip them down ,sand them and poly them instead of building new ones.except for a few pieces of 1/4 plywood that need to be replaced they were in surprizingly good shape , Its amazing what a few screws ,glue ,and a tightnening budget will do

Just waiting on an axle

Today I found out that the axle will be here next Tues. This is a new rock guardthat we made while we were waiting.It is made from grey lexan and the cleaned up old frame.Just leaving the protective coating on till we hit the road .

From a distance.

Finally a nice looking house in Florida.I must have passed a 100,000 ugly nondiscript houses on the west coast around the tampa area .I spotted this one on the way to get the A/C for the A/S
I think every house plant I grow at home was in this persons yard,uner the protection of a stately Live Oak

Thank You ,Rube Goldberg

The old ammonia refrig is now duel fuel. The wire was loose for the heating element. I wonder how many years previous owners were without benefit of a frig .When I frst got the rig nothing worked .Ian and I cleaned out the burner and got the gas part of the frig working.Now that its out of the rig Vinny and I got the electric heater working
Without teaching a Physics class ammonia refrigerators do not have a compressor.All it does is heat the ammonia in a closed loop .When it condenses it chills the unit .
It seems strange to heat something to get keep yor food cold.
What would have happened if the world ran on ammonia refrigerators,instead of freon .Maybe we would still have an Ozone layer!!!
Whats the answer uncle Syd?

Two new rims and tires waiting for an axle. Almost two weeks its not here yet.

Orient Point, New York

Orient Point, New York,Some people call this place ;Lands End but this is where all my journeys start.

Front Street in Greenport, New York

Front Street in Greenport, New York For every one that once of still calls this place home.I found this on the bridge and tunnel web site a place every New Yorker shold visit

the birds

I have been remiss in writing about the birds here ,I'm staying on the Gulf of Mexico and there are abundant flats around us at low tide .The canals create a barrier for me to get any closer than I have . With the help of a spotting scope and binoculars I have seem most of the major wading birds in North America. Heron's, ibis, storks, egrets are all over the place
In the morning there is a roving band of wood stork that wander around the neighborhood poking into every ones lawn .
I have seen a few osprey .I sometimes wonder where they are heading .They should be back on their nests in Orient about a week after I return .
There is no way of telling if these are one and the same birds
I almost forgot the pelicans. Across the street there is a natual creek linked directly with the Gulf . The dolphins come in and herd up the mullet at low tide .They circle and circle, closer and closer, before the dolphins can gorge themselves ,the pelicans are jumping in for a free meal

I keep checking the creeks for fish but nothing to speak about yet

The hack

On top of the fact that my hip is getting worse I have a miserable cold .I may have to go to the doctors for both if I don't get better soon.

There is nothing worse than a reformed drunk, ex smoker .I know I'm a pain in the ass!!

I have been the guest of my brother-in law and Pat's sister Coni .Everything was fine until the girls showed up . I feel like I can't see anyone in the evening with all the smoke the three of them produce .

Oh well I'll just have to watch you tube and play Jerry Garcia's rendition of Smoke Get's in Your Eyes , few more times .

I don't mind the eyes its just that my lungs hurt .Maybe that's just from the cold ?



On a lighter note I had the oil in the truck changed today.It was 1500 miles overdue.I guess I should have changed it before I left .I also picked up the new AC/heat pump for the camper.

The Globe trotter is off to the welders tomorrow .That's when all work on the vehicle comes to a halt for a few days .I'm also am going to buy a few new tires now that the new rims are here

I hope its only a few days!

In the mean time Vinny and I will do some work on his dock and see what we can do with the gauchos now that they are all over the garage

The set up ready to leave Orient

This is without the stabilizer bars .I was missing parts . Took it to Ozzies in Bohemia .they hooked me up and had me on the road in 3hrs

One week in Florida

We have been plugging along .My hip is still severely inflamed .The belly is down .The inside is gutted to the wall .
We found that the floor under the frig and a/c drain was completely shot .Cut out rotted section .
The chassis is in good shape except the rear end .We are taking the vehicle to a welder to have him look . Going to a cabinet shop tomorrow to pick out wood .
decided on cork floors and will look for a stainless fabricator to make new counter tops .Already lined up a guy down here to get the lexan for a new rock guard


Going to try and get Ash plywood .If not the rest of the inside is gone and going to make all new cabinets and storage compartment

Ready to leave Long Island. 1200 miles ahead of us

This is the rim after the blowout on I-95 20 miles north of Savannah

Belly Reduction

Not mine ,the trailers!!
I have been reading blogs and other peoples web sites for over a year regarding restoring the Globe trotter. Most people just show a few picture or make some terse statement regarding removing the trailers belly .
It sucks to say the least. I must have drilled out 500 rivets while lying on the new Sears crawler that I purchased today .
Nobody mentions all the crap that accumulates between the floor and the belly .
I have a half of garbage can full of mouse memorabilia that I swept off the garage floor .The belly is down . We will evaluate the chassis and wiring tomorrow.
Then its going to a local welder(s) to get the tail end replaced .Then I'll paint it with POR 15 .POR 15 is a air cured product that chemically adheres to the steel and prevents it from corroding .The next steps will be decided after they welder has a look at the vehicle

The downhill run

Left my house in Orient on the 29th .It took 2 days to get the parts in for the tow package for the trip south
Got them put on the 30 and left for Florida at 5AM in the morning .After 13 hrs of driving ,Vinny and I decided to drive on through .21 hours was the ETA .Around 7:30 with the rain coming down and my co pilot sleeping I blew a tire on the trailer .They were brand new .
By time I got off the road the tire and rim were both shot .I have a suspicion that the 42 year old rim let go ,not the tire.
I had neglected to check the air pressure of the spare after I went around the rig and checked all 6 tires .
We put the spare on and there was about 5 lbs. of pressure in the tire .I learned something that night .IT TAKES 1 HOUR TO DRIVE 5 MILES WHEN THE SPEEDOMETER READS 5MPH .Got off and filled up the spare and then drove another 6 hrs on that piece of crap spare
Called Inland RV in California the next day .Now I'm waiting to get a new axle and 2 new rims shipped to me in Florida .
I was hoping to put off putting a new axle on for awhile but as long as I put new rims on I decided to shoot the moon
Sorry no pictures till the next post .the camera arrives from home tomorrow

Goodbye Irene!!!

The day after my last post, my mother -in-law took a turn for the worse with her battle with emphysema and died .
Forty years and never an argument not even a heated discussion.
My children only had one grandmother and you could not have asked for a better person.
She was there from the time they drew their first breath until her breathing got the best of her . I loved you nan, I will miss you terribly