Been away awhile............

Looking Good Jake, love the 1/96 Constitution.

I especially like the treatment you gave the copper on the bottom, nice effect.

It's been a while myself, I started back up recently and hoping to get more done on my two builds.

I hope the water doesn't get to you in Lacombe, we're expecting it pretty bad down here from the Atchafalaya Basin. Between Berwick & Morgan City, we're like the tip of a great big funnel funneling a lot of the overflow from the Mississippi straight down through here. At least we have a 20' seawall & Levee between us & the water, I feel for those people who are going to get flooded. It's going to get pretty bad.

Adrian

Adrian,

No we should be ok in Lacombe but the lake will rise a bit which will cause the tributaries to back up a touch.  I've been in meetings most of the day and more tomorrow, DHH (Dept of Health) is concerned about the water plants in the area, Schriver I think in the lowest.  Worst case senario is that the levees around Morgan City were not tested against this. It's not just the water, its the time and pressure of the water against them.

The Miss. River is so high in the New Orleans area they have restricted ALL river traffic to daylight hours ONLY.  And have 12 standby tugs at various choke points to assist incase we get another BrightStar (remember that one?).   Homeland Sec. is ratched up a few more notched becasue with the River so high, a ship would punch through the levee and the coursing water would lay waist to the rest. Beginning tomm.  each vessle will have special security measures Marsec 2-3 levell for awhile.

Stay safe and get out early, it can all be replaced.  IF you need a place to stay if things go south on you, please call I'll make room in the den for ya.

Jake

jbgroby@charter.net

Thanks for the invite Jake, much appreciated, but I think I'll be OK through this.

I know what you mean about the levees in Morgan City and on top of all that, this drought we've been having isn't going to help either. It also doesn't help that the river takes a pretty hard turn just north of Morgan City putting more stress on that levee.  That levee's been strengthened with sheet pile but that is a LOT of water coming down.

I live in Berwick across the Atchafalaya River from Morgan City, so I should be fine. We're just a bit higher and the levee here has been reinforced with sheet pile also and topped off with a seawall.  We learned some good lessons here for the flood of 1973.  IF everything holds, I'll do fine.

Sorry to hijack your Constitution thread, your doing a great job with her, can't wait to see her finished.

Adrian

Jake be strong, and remember ye sold me a Victory, Arrrggghhh

I'd fergettin bout how that Connie ship wuzarmed wit carronades, same as missed me'n ye rowin back te'ship wit all the rum.

Prayers fer yeh,

Billy Bondo Us (less)

Looks alot better then the one sitting on my shelf half finished.  Cheers!!!!!

Jake and Adrian, both of you stay safe - we've had the crest here in WV, thank God, now just back to the "normal" spring flash floods and needless deaths.

The biggest concern with the lower mississippi River is when they open both spillways it will relieve TOO MUCH pressure off the streaming waters and will allow the Gulf of Mexico water to over take the hydrulic pressure and push salt water up river. The river bottom is below sea leave from Baton Rouge to the mouth.

So when the flow slows down the salt water will push upstream.  Our water treatment plants can handle water with an 250 ppm salinity level peak but anything higher than that will cause problems for the residents. We'll have to barge water in to dilute, we've been here before back in the late 80's.

I saw the Mississippi River many years ago while on R & R in New Orleans. I remember a shipmate telling me that the brown water of the Mississippi was ,"Too thick to drink and too thin to plow."

  Montani semper liberi !  Happy modeling to all and every one of you.

                                Crackers                      

Bumped this up because I just saw the Corps will be opening a spillway sometime Saturday that will put Tnonk dead in the floods cross hairs. The article mentioned flooding Morgan City and then on to the Gulf, and Berwick sits just south of Morgan City. My thoughts go out to both him and Jake and hope they can get out of this safe and without too much loss. I'm not mcuh for prayer but got some going out tonight.

Jake...

 I just went thru your online album and she's looking very fine.  Did I see you add on the solid bulwarks at the waist?  I'm recently back from Boston where I got to visit the old girl - interestingly the most recent renovation included the removal of the solid bulwarks and the restoration of the railings/cranes along the waist... Go figure.

By the way - for what little it is worth - I stumbled upon some notations in Commander Martin's book that lists the bow chase gun as being an 18 pounder...  Commodore Bainbridge removed it when he took over - made no sense to him to have to take up room storing 18 pound shot when the rest of the long guns were 24 pounders...

Keep up the great work and thanks for all the online progress photos

Cheers