Starting the rebuild on a 1972 19' 1" Aquasport

[Tim/GA]

Wilson, thanks.  The visqueen sounds like a better idea.  That is pretty much how I figured to work it with the strings as well.

Bluesbrother, what year is your 19 6?  Sounds like you are getting there and pretty much in the same fix that I found myself (not that it was a suprise for me, I figured on a good bit of work).  It amazes me what people will do to a boat like they did on both mine and yours- just to save a buck on a tank that does not fit!  Oh well, it got me my project hull cheap.  Don't thing I will be getting much done on it until summer though, at least until school lets out (I am a high school Algebra teacher).  Would love to see pics.

[JimCt]

Algebra... your casual mention of it brings to me stark cold-sweat memories of staring helplessly, alas hopelessly, at my test paper with the terrifying Mother of All Equations glaring coldly back at me.         The Quadratic Equation!      

Though I am a stranger to you, trust me; if you can battle that equation and knock it down a peg or two, rebuilding your AS will be a stroll in the park!

[Anonymous]

For me it was easy, I am located in Aruba, it costs $195 per foot to send a boat down from Miami. And you need to measure total lenght including trailer. So you see that even if you get a boat for free in the US it would cost a fortune to send it down. Granted, if I had known all the trouble before I started, probably I wouldn't have done it. The year of my hull? I have no idea. I think it is around 1985.

[Tim/GA]

Aruba?  Nice!!  

Jim, I hear comments like that ALL the time!  Luckily I always liked math.  Want me to really get some people to break out in a sweat- how about adding things like rational equations, linear systems, completing the square and factoring (the mother of all cold sweats for my students!).  Actually this is only my 3rd year teaching (I was an Army officer in the 24th and 3rd ID before that) and now they are getting me into the admin side of things as the Freshman Academy Director.  Thus my lack of time to work on the boat!  At least you remember the name Quadratic Equation, for some that seems to be to much to ask!

[Seadog]

MATH?

I'm one of those wacked-out people that math always came easy to.  Made an A in every math class I ever took!  High school thru college. Trig, algebra, geometry, calculus, derivatives, integration - let me at em. I love that crap!

I always thought of  mathmatics as mental gymnastics - jumpin'  thru the hoops of logical thinking to a final inevitable conclusion. Sort of satisfying to figure the problems and theories out, understand them finally and follow them out to the end.

I was trained as an electrican in the service, and when I got out briefly thought about becoming an electrical engineer. Took calculus with physics in college - now that crap can really rack your brain.

[Wilson]

WOW!! I am a math moron.  Thats why I went into Law.

[JimCt]

Just what is the purpose of the Quadratic Equation?
Any one of us adults ever stumble into the damned thing ANYWHERE else except in math class?... No?... I thought not.

All I could ever guess from where I hid in the back of the room, was that some early professor had constructed this efficient implement solely for the purpose of swiftly winnowing wheat from chaff in math class.  And truly, it works.  My math teacher, Mr. Rodenhizer, a crew-cut, bow-tied German, had me in the chaff pile faster than I could cry "cube root".  My grade for my first shot at Algebra 1 was 38!  I challenge anyone to beat that!

The one thing of value math class endowed me with and I subsequently developed to a perfected art which served me frequently in my other educational adventures, was the art of sitting in class and becoming absolutely invisible.  For that, I am indebted to math class & The Equation.