Optimist Pram Building - Week 4

Putting the twist in the chine
Fitting the chine to hull #2
Holly with monster clamp!

Chuck and Holly gluing and clamping

Fitting the chine to Hull #1

Today students glued up the bottom and hull stringers. The chine pieces were soaked for 30 minutes in a PVC tube filled with boiling water. This softened the mahogany frames enough for them to bend and twist to fit the shape of the bottom. Next we will glue up the chines and begin to fasten the plywood sides and bottom.

Aquatic Plants Featured at next Great Lakes Seminar

2009-2010 Great Lakes Seminar Series: "Aquatic Plant Survey of Grand Traverse Bay" March 9, 2010

The Inland Seas Education Association will present a seminar that focuses on aquatic plants found in Grand Traverse Bay at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, March 9, 2010, at the Inland Seas Education Center in Suttons Bay. The program will be presented by Sarah U’Ren, Program Director at The Watershed Center-Grand Traverse Bay. This seminar is free and open to the public.During the summer of 2009, the Watershed Center conducted a macrophyte bed survey of Grand Traverse Bay, utilizing aerial photography and their Bay Monitor tugboat. Macrophytes include rooted aquatic plants such as milfoil and algae such as Chara. Additionally, a variety of water quality and sediment tests at various bed locations were conducted to analyze for nutrients such as phosphorus.

Results from this study show a marked increase in the number of beds compared to previous surveys conducted in 1991 and 1998. The study also provides baseline data that will help ascertain the link between macrophyte bed growth, phosphorus cycling, and invasive mussels, as well as any connection to avian botulism.

Sarah U’Ren holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Science from the University of Maryland and has been Program Director at the Watershed Center since 2002. U’Ren authored the Grand Traverse Bay Watershed Protection Plan and administers its many grant-related programs. She also directs the Watershed Center’s beach and volunteer monitoring programs, and launched their Stream Search program in 2003.

Pram Building Class, 3rd Session

Students set up the bow and stern transoms, and fitted the bottom stringers this week. These parts will be glued in place next week.

Two prams are being built at the same time by two teams of students.

Optimist Pram Building Continues at ISEA Boat Shop

Student Pram Building at ISEA Boat Shop

ISEA's pram building program got a great start last Saturday with 10 students and 5 parents participating. Work will continue this Saturday and following Saturdays from 10 am to noon. Stop in and see the progress. Our thanks to the Collectors Foundation of Traverse City for sponsoring this youth boatbuilding project.

Phragmites Seminar Tonight At ISEA

Tonight's Great Lakes Seminar is:

Phragmites Problems & Control in the Grand Traverse Bay Watershed

The Inland Seas Education Association will present a seminar that focuses on the issues surrounding the invasion of Phragmites at 7:00pm on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at the Inland Seas Education Center in Suttons Bay. The seminar, "Phragmites Problems and Control in the Grand Traverse Bay Watershed," will be presented by Ellen Kohler, Policy Specialist at The Watershed Center-Grand Traverse Bay. This seminar is free and open to the public.Phragmites is one of the highest-threat invasive species in Michigan, and it is quickly establishing itself in this region. Phragmites grows up to 14 feet tall, forms extensive dense stands, and harms native habitat by crowding out native vegetation. It also limits water access, damages property values, blocks views, and is very expensive and difficult to control once well-established. The Watershed Center-Grand Traverse Bay is the lead organization for Phragmites detection and control in Grand Traverse County. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment received grants to begin Phragmites control efforts in the fall of 2009. However, Phragmites is very aggressive and it will take several years of surveying and additional control measures to contain it.Ellen Kohler is a Policy Specialist at The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay. The Watershed Center advocates for clean water in Grand Traverse Bay and acts to protect and preserve the Bay's watershed. They are the leader in protecting and preserving the Bay's watershed and achieving broad community commitment to clean water.

Mackinac Bridge, Safety Session at Volunteer Class this Wednesday

I drove up to Sault Ste. Marie today to talk with LSSU staff and administration about future collaboration in shipboard classes. We had a good session and I'll let you know as soon as we have something confirmed, hopefully in time for the 2010 summer session. Crossing the Mackinac Bridge was a windy affair, with trucks restricted to 20 mph. Almost no ice visible in the Straits. No ships either.

This Wednesday evening (6:30 pm) at the Volunteer Instructor Class I will review safety procedures aboard Inland Seas and the Instructor's role in ensuring a safe learning environment. If you have not attended any classes yet, this one is a great place to begin. Give us a call to register for the class, or just show up and you can register upon arrival. Hope to see you there. ---Capt. Tom Kelly

Tonight's Seminar: "Underwater Adventure into the Past"

Suttons Bay, January 13, 2010

The Inland Seas Education Association will present a seminar that focuses on the underwater mapping of a drowned river channel at 7:00pm on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at the Inland Seas Education Center in Suttons Bay. The seminar, "The Norwood Project: Underwater Adventure into the Past," will be presented by Luke Clyburn, president of the Noble Odyssey Foundation. This seminar is free and open to the public.The Noble Odyssey Foundation (NOF) research team is a group of scientists from local universities and museums and divers that undertake submarine and coastal research projects under the direction of Captain Luke Clyburn, who also serves as the Director of the NOF. In 2004, John Zawiskie of the Cranbrook Institute of Science and Scripps Univeristy marine biologist Dr. Elliot Smith directed the underwater mapping of the geology of the sill at the mouth of Grand Traverse Bay. This led to the creation of the first geologic map of the bottom sediments and bedrock in that part of the lake basin and documentation of a drowned river channel cut through lake bottom clay at depths of up to 150 feet. This is a relict channel from the low stand period that formed when the current lake floor was a land area, sometime between 10,000 and 7,500 years ago.Luke Clyburn will show the DVD that chronicles the preparation for and the fieldwork during this expedition. Afterwards, he will discuss the implications of such work and how the Noble Odyssey strives to bring together young people, adults, and scientists interested in developing and supporting underwater research projects to enhance public understanding of Great Lakes science and history.