so i got a job in boat building...

is it that i have been made too paronoid by the board building industy…? today was my first day, i was suprised to see that almost no one wears gloves when dealing with chemicals…getting sprayed in the face with dust while sanding dosent seem to bother them…they just give a good cough…and there fine…the funny thing is almost everyone wears those white tyvek suits…seems their biggest concern is there clothes…during lunch some one asked why i wasnt wearing a suit?..i explained i might if i really get itchy, but from my past experiences getting covered in dust,dosent bother me too much…she said by the end of the day i am just covered in dust…funny she haddnt worn a dust mask all day…so i explained all that dust on your arm is also in your lungs…i dont get it…you know its hard enough fitting in at a new job, much less when im wearing a dust mask and every one else is looking at me weird…i mean just being in the building i can taste the resin dust…are these people just idiots?..or am i to picky…i think they are idiots…i guess they think i am to…i guess i have to ask myself better to fit in now .? or cough up blood later…

fit in by wearing a suit, but don’t give up your lungs just to conform… why be stupid?

“Oops, I just happened to bring an extra mask you want to wear it???”

“Oops, I just happened to bring an extra mask you want to wear it???”

“Oops, I just happened to bring an extra mask you want to wear it???”

“Oops, I just happened to bring an extra mask you want to wear it???”

A quick dip in the ocean after working in the boat yard will cleanse and soothe your exposed skin.

(Westsail 32)

first patcheck go buy a boxof masks the good kind and give-em out one each … when they want another tell them ok but return the favor by buying two yo return to the box…ambrose …snowball in hell surviving silocosis,black lung , like in a coal mine

 Howzit have, For some reason the people who work in boat yards don't wear the right protective gear, are the laminaters wearing resperators, probably not. The only ones probably wearing resperators are the gel coat shooters and chances are they are wearing exhaust air suits. I remeber one boat shop I worked in that had us using asbestos and never gave us any masks, when I think back that was probably the most chemical abuse my body has ever been exposed to. Aloha,Kokua

no …it sounds good but you dont get it…there are plenty of masks to go around …they just dont seem to care or something…they can see and feel it on their skin…so they feel dirty… maybe they taste it in their mouth, but they dont seem to care…and it really sucks after being so carefull working on my boards not to breathe dust…and then i have a 50 hour a week job where i feel like people think im a jackass because im worried about breathing it, not just getting dirty.

have, I get it!

Put your mask on like a jock strap. Then kick up a lot of dust with a big disk sander and start coughing like a maniac. Take the mask off from around your waist, while exclaiming, “Oh, here’s the problem!!!” Doh…

Seriously - what ambrose said about occupational hazards - please take to heart.

It only takes one to start a revolution…

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless”

  • Mother Teresa

I agree with Keith. Wear your suit to fit in if you want but always wear your mask regardless. Unfortunately, their ignornace won’t save them from the harm they are doing to their bodies. You on the other hand know better and should put your lungs ahead of caring what they think.

Does the employer do anything to educate the workers on the risks? Does the employer recommend that masks should be worn? If not (and maybe for the industry in general) no doubt they will subject to numerous law suits when the workers start dieing of easily prevented respiratory diseases. Of course, it’s too late then…

Always look after your health.

Kind Regards,

Matt.

I have worked in Yards and repair business for 25 yrs. Most guys wear protective stuff. Most that said,"Real men don’t wear masks " -are DEAD. I had one guy that put a hole in his mask so he could smoke!! hahaha

i dunno this is just a fkd up job…i know the stuff from board building but this is on a much bigger scale,im switching from a small plant 15-20 people who i knew very well. to a bunch of strangers 300 something…acting like robots…beep its time for break…beep.beep…its time for lunch…hell im not gonna make it a week…pour some mekp on your sandwich you dumb bitch, add some spice,yeah im dissapointed in the whole scene…i gotta look for a job where i dont have to do shit…im in a worse mood than usual, is it obvious.?

maybe if i can work my way to 2nd shift…it makes it easier that way…i also wonder if im qualified to sand a million dollar yact , can i sand a 400 dollar board?

A smaller repair yard is a much better scene.

Have,

I’m just curious, what part of the world are you in?

  Howzit have, just what do they have you doing at this boat yard. One thing I learned working in boat yards was if I was going to work there I wanted to have a high paying job which seemed to be gel coat repairs or shooting the gel coat layers in the molds. If I move to Havasu City Eliminator Boats want me to shoot their hulls for them especially since I can do design tape offs, it pays about $1500.00 a boat and I can work any time of the day I want. Another thing is get a job at the most expensive boat making yard around since they will probably pay the highest wages. Another idea is become a mobile boat repair guy and be you own boss, people with boats will pay a lot more for repairs that surfers will pay for board repairs. Aloha,Kokua

That’s right! Be your own boss. Work for a good gel-coat guy on the docks for a while and learn the ropes. I met Dave Sweet when I was a kid. he was called " the dabbler" because he used his fingers all over the patch to test colors. He was well liked and real low profile. I sprayed L.P . for 20+ years and did fiberglass repairs and varnish it payed real well. Try to work for a top repair guy as a helper. It’s much cleaner work and usually payes better.Good ins jobs pay real good!!! Nowadays I work fulltime for a montecito family as a yacht manager .I can surf anytime I want and get payed very good and sail alot—very nice lifestyle.

Hey Have,

Even under the best circumstances, changing jobs is pretty stressful. Money issues, severance from friends/co-workers, new surroundings, etc - even the small things like a new route to work takes a huge toll on the nerves. The change from a small business, to a large company must be a huge mind twister in itself. Give it a few weeks and hopefully things will start falling into place for you.

Take care of yourself in regards to safety first. Some of folks that have been there awhile might be a tough sell, while others may just need a ground breaker. You’d probably also make any further new employees feel more at ease in regards to their choice.

Hang tough man and best luck!

Herb

when i was working a glassing factory there was a guy who did boat repair next door. he would alway crack jokes how we should save the money we spend on saftey gear for better beer (we drank Mickeys). Anyhow his theory about why he didn’t need a respirator was because he always keep a buring cigarette between his lips, he said the buring cherry burned off the resin fumes before he could inhale them, he also spent alot of time being tuned down by mailorder brides from asia…

Herb, Very well said !! have, and anyone else reading this go out right away and buy yourself a full face respirator 3M # 68P71 , Do yourself and your family a favor!!!

Aloha , Clyde Kauai

Yeah, what part of the world are you at? We could send a fellow swaylockian with a clipboard, and a white jacket over to the boat yard - pretending to be OSHA and threaten to fine the hole place for not enforcing safety standards. Any lawyers out there? Didn’t think so, but I’m sure this is a lawsuit waiting to happen. The positive saftey vibe here on swaylocks is great. Swaylocks is the closest thing there is to a surfer’s union. cheers, Brennan

Yeah… now ya know why the only fiberglass boats I work on are my own ( and I avoid that ) , and why for money I fix wood boats exclusively, plus mebbe a little cabin and wheelhouse work in steel and aluminum boats. It’s a miserable business to be in, from what I can see and smell and watch. I don’t know anybody who likes doing it.

It’s also, mainly, a low- to un-skilled trade. You need a few people that know what they are doing in a production environment, and the rest of it can be done by village idiots. As you may have noticed.

About the suits- it might seem weird, but there aree reasons. For instance, all that damn dust, it gets into your clothes, and when you wash 'em it gets into all your other clothes, your shorts, etc. And you really, really don’t want fiberglass fragments in your shorts.

Like some have suggested, a change might be in your future. Repairs are good money and more interesting. Learning and doing the woodwork and detail work, smaller crew and probably better pay and you’re learning something useful. Or get out of the business and into another one.

In the meantime, wear your mask and your suit. What the others do is their problem.

hope that’s of use

doc…

doc has it…

I just used each of my beginner jobs to build up EXPERIENCE. Make the best of your experience, even if you only get everyone to wear a mask your time is not in vain. Basic fiber-glassing skills, line carpentry and wood construction techniques have all transferred into knowledge that has helped in other areas of my life. I didn’t last more than two months in that job, but I used that experience to ratchet-up the job ladder each time. Look where liquid & kokua are at! Make the best of it - and you won’t lose.