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Wednesday 25 September 2013

New shiny dive tanks & our arty tallent

 25 brand new scuba tanks arrived at the port for us to use on our 2 dive boats.
80 cu ft Luxfer with hi flow Sherwood valves.
Only just got them all in the Land Rover, then off down to James's house to sand and paint them in company colours.


 For a number of reasons, dive companys want to be able to identify the tanks they own, so we went with white crown, as it it verydistinctive, and can be seen very well under water & on land.

 For the finishing touch, we managed to make a pretty accurate stencil of our company logo, many thanks to Mr Andy Gibb for his effort and accuracy with a stanley knife & craft blade.
Along with a steady hand for the eyes ha ha.
 Was a fun weekends work , and we think they look great together, now to fill them off our compressor and place them in their rightfull location on our new dive boats.
We have a few action shots to come of our hard work, and maybe an experimental video upload to enhance our blog and prepare for dive videos later.
 
For more info and news on our company, like us on Facebook for our daily feed
 
or follow us on Twitter @piratedivers or google+
 
 
Regards Pirate Divers
+1(345) 324 3271

Thursday 19 September 2013

We have our first working dive boat

All the hard work paid off, shes done, engine on , deck and swim platform repaired, ladder strengthened, clean, shiny and newly waterproofed canopy.
Looking back now its only been a week since buying her but seems to be years ha ha..

Scott's Marine fitted the engine , all new controls and gauge's, plus fuel system so basically, we have a new boat,in an older very trustworthy make of hull so that makes us very happy, hope she will serve us well for many years.


Internal boat layout from bow and stern, full seating at the bow allowing a great deck area.
Then a port and starboard view or engine and swim platform with dive ladder.
She goes it to sea trial today about lunch time, so fingers crossed, and we rename her before we dunk her in,





Friday 13 September 2013

Sure is Caymans rainy season

OK so 3 days of continuous down pours have meant literally nothing done. Had a chance to strip the dive platform of old scruffy coating and grip tape, so then  ready to anti slip paint.

As you can see cosmetics are not pretty, so a couple of hours hard prep work means she is ready for a nice new skin, so she is safe to dive off, we are going to use full anti slip on the entire deck, making the wet area as safe as we can possibly get it.



 
 
The one other major issue we found, when inspecting her before buying was the mounting was cracked just to the left, and 3 or 4 very poor welding repairs completed. Us being us this was not good enough for the future so like in the Wizard of Ozz, 'were off to find a welder a wonderful welder off ........... Georgetown actually' just not as catchy "Oh well".
 
But the guy ,Mike from CMS did a fantastic job of grinding out the old rubbish, and making a top class seam weld of the entire damaged area, then making a new holding bracket to solve the problem for good, great workmanship and our metal guy from now on.
 
 
Nice to find such good, craftsmen even on our small strip of paradise.
 
Then the bad news, non stop rain since, so that was the end of any progress, luckily today the sun is shining. 
So I am off to Scotts Marine ewith my paint brush in hand to get her ready today, then we can finally mount her power unit early next week.
 
Regards Mac & James
 
 
#scuba #grandcayman #piratedivers #padi

Sunday 8 September 2013

Busy weekend on new West side boat

Such a good start to the weekend, might be a bit odd to be happy about work on a Saturday morning to most but seeing progress makes me feel good.

So some before the work is done, along with  some action shots of James getting to it with the pressure washer.


 So as you can see, great condition and layout, just needed a real good clean, she has been out of the water for over a year and just wanted a couple of hours work to add her sparkle back, thanks to Jayne at Scott's marine for letting me and James invade the boat yard and kidnap the jet wash.

Now shes clean, an I installed the batteries and switch systems also, she is just waiting for Scott's to hang the engine and wire her up then we will splash her with an appropriate beverage and rename her, before taking her over to West Bay for a new home and future.


 Getting the hull spotless ready for her signage. And we also detailed the inside of her ready for the deck and cockpit carpet to go back down.

Nice nonslip surface that will protect the deck from tanks and weights, plus looks very sleek and hides all the hatches and so on.
 
Good day all round, bring on Sunday ready for the next push on to the finish line, which is getting a little closer each day.
 
For more information and news follow the link below and like our Facebook page please.


Regards Mac & James

piratedivers@outlook.com
+1(345) 324 3271


#scubadiving #scuba #padi #piratedivers #grandcayman

Thursday 5 September 2013

Retail store ready for stock

Finally, a chance to get retail pictures blogged.Stock is ordered, be a few days till the clothing& merchandise racks look full but at least its all been finished and looks nice I think.

Counter ready for prices and offers, plus a computer booking and sales system installed along with cabinets and school desks.

Taken up more time than i thought, but sourcing some stuff on island is harder than expected but,everyone who has taken a look says a nice layout and good use of space so happy enough .



 
The place is nice and welcoming, clean lines and neutral at the moment, but I think the stores personality will come with time and grow as the company and space learn to live with each other.
 
On another good note, the second boat for the West/South could just be a few days away. Had a good break on a very nice looking hull and friends have sourced engine units for me finally looking to put them together as one over the next few days fingers crossed, should know for sure by AM Friday.
 
For more information and regular updates, like our Facebook page on https://www.facebook.com/piratediversgrandcayman
or follow us on twitter
 
Regards Mac
 
+1(345)3243271
 
#piratedivers #grandcayman #scubadiving #diving #padi

Monday 2 September 2013

New week and much to do

Got the chance to dive for the first time since being back on island, over the weekend decided I needed a break so full day off Sunday, and 2 great dives of shore, Sunset house then Eden Rock.

Nice to get back under water after all the business stuff and then Sunday lunch at Fidel Murphy's, so nice to round of a chill day.

So Monday has started off with the news I was waiting for, just how much TLC does the Aquasport need, turns out to only need the bow reinforced by the windlass and I knew about that from the deck being soft around the point, so I'm going to blow the budget anyway, Ive got a unit of custom tank racking and seating being made and were going to do the rear hatches and floor and get rid of the captains chairs, so extra work needed to strengthen, rear deck plates now we decided on doing that, but 'hey it will make her stunning to dive off.

Also get the bottom paint and new zincs all round as its not going to need much desperately, might as well spend it on prevention and improving her, rather than cocktails at the bar ha ha.

Second boat still no nearer to being lined up, had a couple of serious looks and made offers but alas no takers, might have to pick up a hull and build a boat around that, found 2 nice engines and a really good hull so getting costs on sticking the 2 together and a top quality boat popping out the other end, just waiting on financial quote for the work needs doing to make the 2 bits one.

Still lots to do today so a quick update and I need to head off to finish today's job list.

Also remember more info if you like us on facebook - https://www.facebook.com/piratediversgrandcayman

or on twitter we are on as Pirate Divers also.

Regards Mac
piratedivers@outlook.com
+1 (345) 3243271



Wednesday 28 August 2013

#piratedivers .Boat is out of the water for her refurb, before work Tuesday

We are very happy to finally get the Aquasport out and down to the boat yard to complete her transformation into our first custom dive boat.
She came out at 3.30 from Vista Del Mar Marina down to BME for her spa treatment and then fitting out as a full dive /charter boat.
Shes in much better condition below the water line than I thought so very good news, a few spots on the deck a little soft for our liking so they will be done, new dive platform and ladder then tank racks and seating all round , were going to design these as we go so the best fit for the boat is achieved. So a few pictures of before to compare once all the work is done.

For the full story of the pics go to out facebook site and like our page for almost daily updates in addition to our blogs follow this link https://www.facebook.com/piratediversgrandcayman or cut and paste it into your browser, any likes will be greatly appreciated.
Regards Mac
piratedivers@outlook.com
+1(345)3243271
#piratedivers #grandcayman #diving #scuba