Moving on/out

Maggie:

It has begun. We starting to slim down, get boat-sized. I have been looking forward to this time, and dreading it also.  Now with the warehouse empty of "the big tools" it is starting to feel real.  The chapter on living in a shop and making stuff is over now. The timing seems to be in our favor as no one wants to come off of any money for things like furniture or small boats or sculpture. That's fine with me coz I seriously lost interest in making stuff, or big stuff at least. I will have a studio set up on board, but I'm keeping it simple, minimal: oil paints,watercolors, colored pencils and the computer. Maybe the Airbrush. 

Deep Freeze

Maggie:

Working on  the boat has become impossible with the temperature in the lower teens at night and barely reaching 20 during the day. We did brave the cold a couple of weeks ago, but it was a miserable experience.  I cut out wood for a section of keel to be put in. That's usually Travis' job

 but we're really behind now in the wood replacement, with the engine room still needing ribs, so I decided to take over that seemingly simple job. It turned out to be hellish work,with each little piece needing to be shaped individually and then leveled into place. That was actually kinda fun. It was the epoxy that screwed me, always either too little or too much. Soon I was sticky, pissed off, ... and defeated. Yup, there's a lot of grinding to do on that spot to make it look good.

Meanwhile Travis ground down the new planking in the engine room, and got himself set up to put in ribs next weekend. He's doing an awesome job! Just look at the little "stairs" he's cutting out in the old ribs to join the new ones. And this spot was NOT easy to get to either! This boat is going to be so freakin awesome!

Warm and Fuzzy

Maggie:

Despite saying that we didn't want anything for Christmas, we drove back from Virginia loaded down with bags and boxes of new, sweet smelling stuff. Sweaters, books, shampoos, dog toys and of course, leftover Christmas food, made for the majority of our loot. Why is it that when you say you don't want anything for Christmas, no one ever believes you? 

It was nice to be warm, without relying on a wood stove or ceramic heaters blowing on your toes. I noticed how the majority of people are completely disconnected from the elements. Houses are warm, cars are warm, stores are warm, the only brief encounter with the outside comes from migrating between any of these destinations. Except if you are a smoker,in which case, due to the new laws and general smoking snobbery, you will be forced to spend some time outdoors. 

I love the outdoors, and even though it was freezing one day, it did warm up to almost 60 the next! We took that opportunity to feed the neighbor's horse some apples. That was my first time ever feeding a horse, they're so big and slobbery!  I was scared, but Rusty turned out to be a "sweet'olethang" and that made me feel warm and fuzzy...

Bitter boatwork

Maggie:

Well the first coat of bilge paint has been successfully applied to that beast of a spot under the cockpit! One more to go. Travis made some headway on the galley cabinets as well before the cold got to be too much and we headed home with our tails between our legs. I hate the f#&ing cold!

A Day in the Life

Maggie: 

The day started cold and dreary   

 

and things were not looking good

                  

                          

Breakfast first, then boat work

                    

Ready?

 

  Not ready!  Not Ready!      

 

 Just think happy thoughts!

                      

  What's Travis doing?

  And where's Chopper?

        

OUCH! This hurts!  

 Is this the worst job ever?

                        

No, remember this?    

 And how can you forget...?

       

I'll definitely try to forget this! 

 Can we go home now?

                      

Just as soon as I'm done           

with the mortise!             

Meanwhile, back at the house,

Billy awaits the "food givers"

     

Yeah! They're finally home!  

Billy! I missed you!

     

and now for an adult beverage

 and the days misery is forgotten!

Cold and Cranky

Travis:

It is the beginning of December and the cold has become nearly unbearable. This only makes us want to work harder to complete our boat and sail off to a more livable climate. But, as is so often true, what we want to do is not what we are capable of doing. We find ourselves moving slower as it gets colder and knowing that the "real cold" doesn't usually happen until February is no consolation. We are doing what we can, which is pale in comparison to what we would like to do. It is fair to say that winter is not among my favorite things. To add to the difficulty of the time, I have been working a real job now for two whole weeks. I honestly didn't think I would last this long. I get up in the dark at 5:30 am and have a nice breakfast, fix my lunch and go to build boats until it is nearly dark again. Now it seems all I do is sleep and work on boats. As a result of a forty hour a week job, I can now only afford two days a week working on Me Voy instead of three like before. So, this week we decided to take off for Oxford on Friday night at about 5:00pm. Bad Idea. Rush hour through Annapolis is worse than rush hour through Baltimore. We arrived at about 8:30 to a very dark and cold boat. Our little heaters did little to warm the space through the night but some good hard work warmed it right up on Saturday. I began work in the galley, starting to build some new cabinetry. The first step was to cut a dado by hand in a new post. There is nothing like whittling away at a nice piece of mahogany with primitive tools. It is a great way to warm yourself on a cold day. The post is cut and most of the pieces are installed in the cabinet so next week I should get it all ready for the new drawer, which I will build here at the shop beside the wood stove.

Cold spots

Maggie:

Well, it has done it. Its gotten cold. I never think that I'm going to live in a cold climate another year, and here it is, year four! in Baltimore. If it wasn't for Me Voy, we'd be living someplace warm, wishing for a boat. Instead, I wear long johns, and wool undershirts, and use hand tools to stay warm. 

                            

And there was plenty  to keep me warm the past couple of weekends. I kept on with the forward berth re-build, and am pleased with the results  so far.There is still one piece of floor to go, ...and then everything else! 

Winter Wood Replacement

Travis :

It has been a few weeks since I last posted. I haven't really been that busy, just lazy I guess. The shorter days and the increasingly cold weather is bringing us all down these days. It's hard to keep going at all, much less try and keep the same kind of pace I had earlier in the year. Even Chopper has slowed down quite a bit. Most peaple who have met him find it hard to believe he ever stops, so we took the lazy picture above just to prove it. He hates cold weather and we don't like it either. Despite our suffering from Season Affective Disorder we are still chugging along on the enormous refit of Me Voy. Two weeks ago I built some structural supports for the steering blocks and fixed some leaky deck fittings. This past week I faired and fiberglassed a large bulkhead repair and began replacing the hull planking in the engine room. Today I milled another mile or so of Mahogany for planking the last of it. After that there are about five more frames to build in and that will do it fo the hull. If we can overcome the urge to slip into hibernation, I should be past all this in a few weeks.

I also want to let everyone know what a fantastic boat carpenter Maggie is proving herself to be. Anyone who has ever seen her artwork knows that she is extremely talented in many mediums. Check out www.DogOnBoat.com . You might be surprised, as I am, at how great she is becoming at fine woodwork. She has been doing some of the interior cabinetry work in our forward stateroom and has done a beautiful job. I hate to say it but I am not sure I could have done any better myself. I'll let her show the finished pictures when she posts. One more thing to update everyone on. Today I was offered a boatwright position with a newly opened yacht company. I wasn't really looking for a job, but with the economy tanking, I decided it might be a good idea to have a steady pay check. The company is called E Sailing Yachts. The currently are building a 33' daysailer / racer. I believe they have built about 15 so far. Check out the web site, www.esailingyachts.com .They are also working on plans with Sparkman and Stevens to design and build a bigger racing / cruiser. Anyway, I am starting on Monday. This doesn't mean that I will no longer be available to build you a new cedar strip sailing dinghy. My evenings are still free for side work.

Slowly But Surely

Maggie:

Well we're trying to gain some momentum on the boat work after a spotty September and October. It's difficult to get going during this season of early darkness but our hope is to still have Me Voy in the water come Spring.

This weekend Travis got the cockpit and stern ready for paint. That hell awaits me now, with the grueling routine of two epoxy coats and two coats of paint while being squeezed, cramped, and sticky. The  aft part of the boat, which will serve as our "workroom" looks like hell right now, as you can see. That's the only part that needs the bilge still repaired and painted. 

I worked in the forward berth doing some  carpentry. I must say that was quite fun, even though Travis put some pressure on me to be "perfect". Its good that he has such high standards, coz I would propably rig something way too "home-made" for our classic look and move on.  Anyway I was hoping to actually finish the hold I was working on, but as with most boat work it takes way longer then you expect.

 I was pleased to see what  fantastic  job I did last year painting the forward holds, and was reminded again, as I climbed in and out of them, what great exercise I was getting. 

                                   

I'm thinking this weekend will be truly gratifying as the little cabinet I was working on will be finished, along with that nasty fiberglass job on the hull. And after that, I will no longer be able to put off the paint job that awaits. Wish me luck!

The Rowboats

Travis:

Mr. Merle Baily came today to pick up his new boats. He drove all the way from Madison Wisconsin to get them and do some other business he had in the area. After overcoming the home stretch obstacle of losing the transmission in his car, and then the dreaded online directions, he arrived safe and sound at the shop. He was very excited to see his new girls for the first time, and seemed very pleased with the job I did, even though I made the bonehead mistake of installing the foot braces on the wrong end on one of the boats. I am pretty bummed to see them go but I am hoping to see them again someday when we cruise the great lakes. If you are ever up to Madison Wisconsin, look him up at Superior Watercraft & Tours. And while you're at it take a ride in one of my boats.