Sunday, February 27, 2011

warning

I feel like this post should come with a warning, something like "not for the faint of heart". I'd like to say that the situation looks better in person, but it doesn't. These days its challenging for one person to get around Me Voy. Stick another body in there and things get dangerous.

It might be hard to imagine that one day soon we will be living here, and all the dust, scraps of wood, gooey materials, and tools will be either neatly put away in their designated compartments or just plain gone. But that vision, now imprinted  in my minds eye,  shines from beneath the surface of the chaos revealing an underlying order that is calm and reassuring.  Strangely,  I can laugh at this chaos now, seeing it for what it is, a temporary ripple on the surface of a deep and still lake.

However, as a favor to the outside observer, I have imposed my own order and labeled the various sections that are currently being developed.  So go ahead, jump in, the water is only chaotic on the surface.



Tuesday, February 22, 2011

9 lives

Lately most of our evenings consist of sitting around out little teak table, drinking hot tea, and dreaming up the design for Me Voy's galley.  This area really got hit hard by the various leaks that were left unattended by the previous owner, and now that we have finished the replacement of the hull planking, the time has come to have some fun! 

This is my favorite phase of any project; the design of the space and the picking out of the materials. 
We are changing things up a bit from the original design, combining what was the aft stateroom with the galley, into a larger galley space and a small workshop. We figure with two berths and five possible sleeping places already, a workshop space will be more useful. After all we have to have some place to keep our collection of Epoxy resins!

After nearly four years of boat restoration we have  a West System epoxy for any occasion

But it hasn't been all talk either. Travis, after years 
of working on other peoples boats, has turned to working on our boats full time.  We figure the most important thing right now is to get our boats into a state of "finishiness". We both realize that neither of these boats will actually ever be finished, as there is always something to make better. But a state of finishiness is totally within reach and even seems likely with Travis Ahsum on our side. I know I'm biased, but seeing T's work I am amazed with the quality and speed with which he makes things happen. Looking at the big picture, or the previously mentioned elephant, this project gets overwhelming, but when I see all these small things getting chewed at I can see this whole thing coming together soon.

However none of this was really the point of this post. What I really wanted to remember, was sitting here, with incense wafting, tea steaming, Chopper sleeping with his bone but alertly keeping an eye on everyone and Billy... dragging his soaking tail in the salon!? WTF? It seems Billy went for an evening swim in the frigid water. How this happened will remain his secret. We heard nothing and saw nothing except for the poor disgraced cat coming down into the salon with a walk that reminded me of a old man disgusted with the world around him. He seemed to take it in stride as I wrung him out in a towel,  and Chopper licked his ears. The whole scene was a bit surreal, and if it wasn't for the wet towel, that now smells of cat, hanging over the stair railing, I swear the whole thing was a bizarre dream. Its a wonder these animals don't run away from home.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Strippers


Over time we have tried many different strippers. Some smelled very very bad, some made my eyes burn,  some made my skin burn, some made me cough and gag, but none, did the job like this unassuming "natural" stripper called Citrustrip. This stuff is a miracle! It smells good, doesn't burn the skin, and its biodegradable. And what ahsum boat store did we get this from ... Wal-Mart!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Elephants

Q: How do you eat an elephant?
A: One bite at a time.

Aboard Me Voy, Travis is a blur of activity. This pic is taken in the salon looking aft.

Here I am standing near the companionway looking forward at all the elephants still to be eaten.

Monday, February 7, 2011

OK, the time has come to get serious. It's Feb. already and I haven't worked on a boat in more then 2 months. Someone said that objects in motion tend to stay in motion, but since my butt hit the couch after the canvas job, I just haven't been able to get anything accomplished. I am however practicing contentment, and as such I am content to walk around the marina taking pics. Check out the frozen shrouds...so cool!