Greetings mates
Robert Booth: I guess you could call it a "cruise" haha. We actually just finished fishing for the season. We fished several different fish; Yellowfin sole, Flathead sole, Rock sole, Alaska Plaice, Arrowtooth flounder, Pollock and Cod. Unfortunately we had some mechanical setbacks as well as some issues with some of the crew members that paused the fishing afew times so money wise this season was a major disappointment. But it was my first experience living/working on a ship out at sea and I did enjoy that aspect of it. I was fortunate to be placed on a very nice ship. Alas now that the season is over and I still need another $5,000 for my goal, I've decided to stay with the ship while its tied up in Dutch Harbor for afew months. I will be working shipyard and helping the engineers with whatever it is they usually do during shipyard. I hope to learn alot from the Chief Engineer and I imagine this will be a nice addition to my resume for this industry.



Regarding the progress of my D2 build, it's been on hold since I left NH back in April and the truck is at my trusted mechanics shop in NH waiting for me to finish getting all the parts needed for him to start the work on it. But as of 11/16/2015 I'm happy to announce that I have finished ordering everything I need to get this project moving forward and I expect my mechanic will begin work shortly once the big shipments arrive at his shop. I have asked him to document the his progress via pics and I will share those in due time once I receive them. If all goes well the truck should be ready to go in mid January. Below I will list everything I just ordered....

- wiper blade kit
- EBC brake pads front and rear
- cooling hose kit
- hose clamp kit
- 8 Champion spark plugs
- Magnacore ignition wires
- 2 20 liter Jerry gas cans
- shovel
- hatchet
- Radiator
- genuine coolant expansion tank, cap and label
- ARB Sahara winch bumper
- alternator
- cooling fan & fan clutch
- TD5 180 thermostat
- 2x rear wheel hubs with ABS sensors
- horn button kit
- genuine rear door ladder
- SD roof rack mounting hardware
- Xenon headlight bulbs
etc

Factor in the new Turner engine I ordered afew months ago which came with a new water pump, oil pump assembly, oil pump cover, performance camshaft etc. My original heads will be machined and as well prior to fitment to my Turner block. My final concern now is the pules. Ive asked my mechanic to inspect each of them and see weather or not I should replace them to.

I will keep everyone posted. Internet here in Dutch is terrible and the weather changes so frequently here. One moment its snowing and the next moment its a bright sunny day than afew hours later its snowing again or strong winds kick up. The wifi provided by the warehouse also has a strong filter on it that block sites like photobucket so at the moment I have no way to upload any pics of my time up here in Dutch but Im gonna see about paying for a GCI internet service so I can use my own internet. Ill keep this thread up to date when I can.

Best wishes to everyone and I hope everyone is safe, warm and enjoying their Rovers.

Julian

 

Nice to hear from you Julian! Amazingly, I finally got the rear ladder off my truck two weeks ago not that you need it anymore

 

Glad to hear you're alive. I saw you FB post and I have to ask. Why go through all that for what equates to a $10/hr job? Especially when it sounds like you're putting in well over 40 hra/wk???

 

I did not know you were on my friends list on FB and Im not sure which post you are referring to. I have made several posts about my experience/progress in this industry on FB so which post? But yes I work well over 40 per week. 16.5 hours per day at 7 days a week, no days off during the fishing season. 12 hour shifts during shipyard. The fishing industry is a gamble I guess. Every season is unique and unlike that last and its impossible to predict how good or bad the fishing will be. It is possible to make $2,000-4,000 per trip (10-15 days per trip typically) and around $10-15,000 total for an entire fishing season but its also possible to earn as little as $4,400 (which is what I just racked in) or even worse you could make $0 if the ships and boats cant find the fish or there is a serious mechanical failure aboard the vessel that ends your season. We get free living, free food and the chance to rack in more money in 2-3 months than most people rack in in half a year and for that we take the gamble - it does not always pay off though. You win some and you lose some. Though is feels like it has taken me forever to make as much progress as I have on my D2, it would have taken me alot longer to get where I am today with my truck had it not been for my earnings made working in the commercial fishing/seafood processing industry. Back when I had a normal $12 an hour 40 hour per week job I racked in around $450 after taxes per week. Subtract gas money, rent, utilities, cell phone, food and I found myself broke more often than not. Back then I thought the cost of a aftermarket alternator was expensive and was so broke I had to source a used one for my D2.... but now I can call up Rovers North, speak to Zack and make a big order for a bunch of **** including a new alternator and still have money left over in my pocket for food and my cell bill. But some of my crew mates do have obligations like a mortgage, children, a wife, child support, bills and maybe some of them are less fortunate than me because they have to send most of their hard earned money back home to cover all those costs. My strategy in life as a young adult uptosofar has been to minimize my bills as much as possible. Off the record..... while we are fishing/processing, not a day goes by that I dont curse my occupational choice and wish for it to end so I can get some dam sleep and get a normal 40 hour week job. Whenever I hear people complaining about how tired they are working 40 hour week jobs I reflect on my occupation and the long hours we are forced to work.... in the end we go through all the hassle so that some person with a big wallet can bring their family out to dinner and order a dish with fresh salmon or any other species of fish or crab.....

 

I'm everywhere......LOL
I wasn't trying to bust your ***** or anything. I was kinda thinking you could save a lot on living expenses while out at sea.
Having been in public works for almost 20 years now I'm pretty used to stupid long days snowplowing or working water main breaks. I think my record was 32 hours straight fixing 3 main breaks in February, no naps or sleep. It sucks but the reward is usually worth it. Keep up the hard work, Long John Silvers depends on it!!!

 

No your good lol and feel free to add me to your friends list if you want. I actually just posted a **** load of pics from my "Alaskan Cruise" so check em out. In afew weeks my mechanic will be read to start working on my truck so Ill be posting pics of that as well once he sends the pics to me.

Kudos for working 32 hours straight man. Not sure if I could do that..... least not for what Im making right now anyways haha.

 

UPDATE:
Since my return to Alaska this past April I have completed 3 contracts in the fishing industry. One on land with Icicle Seafoods and two with American Seafoods Company, aboard their Factory Fishing Trawler F/V Katie Ann. After the fishing season I signed a shipyard contract and stayed behind aboard the vessel with a very small crew of dedicated engineers. I learned how to disassemble clean and reassemble oil and fuel centrifuges as well as heat exchanges, pipes and valves etc. Did a lot of sanding/grinding, cutting polishing and painting to. All in all I learned a lot and really enjoyed the experience. My first time on a ship and working out at sea and it was not as bad as I imagined it would be, however the work was a lot harder than on land based plants. All contracts combined I made a respectable sum of hard earned cash and am ready to take a vacation. I leave Dutch Harbor January 15 and will be back in NH on the 16th. My hard work allowed me to pretty much buy everything on my list and then some.







My truck has been parked at my trusted mechanics shop since April. The truck was brought into the bay just afew days ago and my mechanic has a long list of **** to get done on the truck. May not be quit ready by the 16th so I'll have to endure.

Funny how I got all this **** for my truck and when it comes time for .y mechanic to bring her in the shop she REFUSED! Sitting as long as she has the battery died. Doors are locked as per my request so when the mechanic charged up the battery the security system went ape ****. He had to disassembly the door handle/lock mechanism in order to gain entry and ultimately drive the truck into the shop. So she's finally in be it stubbornly.

The old block has been successfully removed and the Turner remanufactured 4.6 Rover V8 with top hat liners is about ready to be installed. As mentioned before Turner Engineering is out of stock of the secondary air heads my engine requires so the original heads from my old block are being sent to a local machine shop to be rebuilt and cleaned up.

This block is fitted with the upgrade performance camshaft option as well as ductile top hat liners, new oil pump assembly and new front cover and new water pump. All old coming hoses, cooling expansion tank, cap, throttle body hater plate and thermostat are being replaced with new parts as well. TD5 180 thermostat of course. As for the type of engine oil that will be used in this new block; Turner backs the countless claims about Shell Rotella so Shell it will be for life. Great reputation, affordable and available pretty much everywhere so it makes sense.

I expect many updates over the next several days so I'll do my best to keep this updated with news and pics.

Thanks everyone for all your help, advice, patience and supports all these years.

 

And the Turner Block

 

This is very exciting. Awesome to see your dream being made reality.

 

I just had my heads redone by R & L in Dover. They do awesome work.