Sept. - Oct. 2011 - The Coastal Passage Home Page

EYEWEAR TIPS FOR BOATBUILDERS
AND OTHER "EYE ABUSERS", Part 1
The picture on the left is me, Kay, the for many years), or fog up. was time to get back to the paper, but I
TCP expert volunteer. I had a few FREE
(there's that word again) weeks in
between TCP duties. The weather was
perfect - no bugs and cool, dry days. I
knew Bob would be happy to have a help
with the sanding duties.
I lasted about a week, but had to stop as
my eyes were suffering. The picture
below is our collection of goggles that
all have one problem or another. They
don't fit right (I have to wear my glasses
under as I have been "sight impaired"
will try this next time I'm out there. The
Wait! Isn't Jim Geddes a professional good part of this story is I was able to
"eye guy?" So I sent him the picture of "inspire" Jim to write about boaties and
our collection and asked for his advise. eye care.
Jim replied with some ideas:
Below are tips from Jim. The photos
"Have you tried some anti-fog fluid on above is Jim modelling the ultimate eye
the inside of any of the safety gear? Or protection. Please feel free to send us
just spit on the inside as you would a your ideas, discoveries and even horror
dive mask. Getting them warm before stories (we all like to hear we are all not
use also helps."
alone in our eye abuse).
It took me two weeks for my eyes to
heal (lots of eye washes), and then it
By Jim Geddes, SC Te Awara is usually a gap between the frame and nose 3. If you wear glasses ask your which is set for reading only. A far better
To me, it is amazing how much trouble
nature goes to in order to protect our
eyes, with thick boney brow ridges and
deep eye sockets. And what do we do
in return? For most of us, nothing!
Until that is, something goes wrong, like
a foreign object lodged in our eye or so
much dust that only a quick dip over the
side with wide - open eyes has any
chance of removing it. And then there
where stuff can get in. Think about other folk that
might be working alongside you with an angle
grinder.
2. Visit your local hardware store and if you wear
glasses take them with you. Try on all the eye
protection that they have with your glasses ON.
See if they fog up after a walk around the store.
Yes, you will look like a goose but don't take any
notice of strange looks, after all you own a boat
don't you! Don't look at the price; sometimes the
Optician what type of lenses you
have. Polycarbonate is the safest
followed by CR39 acrylic. Avoid
glass even though it might be
armour plated or laminated, it's
just not as safe as polycarbonate.
Anyhow, you should have your
safety spex on, right? Well, think
about what would happen if you
were to fall off a scaffold.
alternative is just a small pair of 1/2 eyes
set to the focal length you wish to work at.
If you have bifocals or progressive lenses
everything should be in focus.
5. Always wear eye protection when using
chemicals, paints, thinners,and mixing
resins. A splash to the eye with polyester
resin catalyst (M.E.K.P.) is one of the
nastiest eye injuries I have ever seen and
lead to the loss of most of the vision in the
is ultra violet light which can be really cheapest will do the best job. 4. Speaking of scaffolds, if you eye affected. M.E.P.K. is a super peroxide
deadly. More of that in another article.
Make sure the eye protection mask has the
How do I know these faults in our nature? Australian Standards seal on it. A good pair will
Because I am guilty of all of the above, and fit close around your nose and will have off-set
being an Optician for over 40 years makes vent holes in the sides for ventilation. "Protector"
wear full size glasses for reading
they can lead to a miss-step when
climbing due to the vision being
blurred outside the focal length
which 'eats' protein .
On that cheery note I will leave you
until the next topic: " How to select the
right pair of sunglasses for boating".
me doubly guilty or just plain stupid, take brand have been around for a long time and are
your pick! Anyhow, here are a few usually well designed. And no, I don't have
guidelines for selecting the right eye shares in the company. Welding equipment
protection when boat building and
suppliers usually have a good supply of eye
maintenance.
safety products.
1. Your prescription eye glasses will NOT
double as effective eye protection. They
will give you SOME protection but not
FULL protection. Unless they wrap around
to close off the sides, dust and foreign
objects can still end up in your eyes.
Metal frames or rimless are worse as there
Also, don't use fresh water to wash out dust.
Saline from the chemist is best. You can also
make your own by boiling some fresh water and
adding plain salt after it has cooled. Clean salt
water from the ocean is OK at a pinch but don't
store it for any length of time as it will go off due to
tiny marine critters.
“If you break it I can re-make it!”
Serving Cairns Marlin Marina and surrounds.
Now is the time to call Allison
to get your covers made or repaired.
phone: 0413 814 333
allisonscovers@thecoastalpassage.com
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