by Tim Rasmussen Water For Life has been collecting funds to purchase a better, newer rotary rig to support our drilling efforts in Guatemala. The Mayhew 1000 is approaching 50 years old and is tired. Last year, the rig was down for a couple of months while we searched for parts. When we could not find the parts, we had to make them. The situation became untenable. We reached out to some of our supporters and asked if they could help us and we also made an application for a grant from a Christian foundation called Versacare. We received positive encouragement from our supporters and Versacare, so we began to look in the used market to find a rig to suit our purposes. We needed a rig that was not too heavy because of the condition of the bridges we must cross in remote areas, and with sufficient ground clearance to handle the rough, miserable roads. We contacted Merle Hoover at East West Drilling, Inc. and talked about our need to send a fully functioning, reliable water well rig to Guatemala. He agreed to help us find something. After a short time, there began a steady stream of e-mails between Merle, Jon, and Gary as we sought to find a rig that would work for us and we could afford. Finally, we found a 1989 SIMCO 2800 which seemed to be what we needed and could be fitted for water well drilling. We did not have all the money we might need, but since we did not know how much we would need, we were not too worried about it. Moving ahead on faith, Jon traveled to the East West shop in Pennsylvania to look at the proposed rig. He came back with a good report, then another string of e-mails was exchanged discussing the various projects involved in lengthening or shortening the bed, moving the rear axle, adding stabilizers, and locating additional tooling. It seems like a moving target as things became available and decisions on changes made and prices changing, but we are making progress. Donations have continued to come to us as folks in the industry found out what we were doing and wanted to help. The convention in Las Vegas helped us spread the news and we made more friends there. We are going to have a newer rotary rig soon. We are not entirely certain what it will be like, or how much it will cost, but we are confident the good folks in the industry and the Good Lord will help us and this project will happen. Working together, we will have a good rig that will serve for many years, and we will be able to drill many more wells to help the good people in Guatemala have access to clean, safe water. If you would like to help, contact Gary Bartholomew at 509-939-1941 Tim Tim Rasmussen may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com WTR 41 APRIL 2024 WorldWide Drilling Resource® I love your magazine. Take it on the plane with me all the time for reading material. A good way to find drills of all types. Harley Bradbury Aamcor Utah GOT SOMETHING TO SAY? You are certainly at the right place. WorldWide is probably the only place to let you share your experiences ~ in whichever drilling field you have been involved. Send your experiences to: WWDR PO Box 660 BONIFAY, FL 32425-0660
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