Boat has windows

so we're getting the cabin walls up and immediately cut the windows out as the temp jumped up 20 degrees. Next week we hope to get the roof on and then we should be able to bake bread. Things are starting to move along a little which cheers me up, this is turning out to be a lot more work than I expected, much like building a house, which I swore I would never do again. As usual, the engine is coming early next week, monday or tuesday, it's been coming now for 6 weeks, but they say they ran it and it "runs real good" and it is just down the road an hour or so. The engine room isn't ready yet to install it, but I need it in front of me to take exact measurements to get things lined up perfectly to hook it up. The deck over the hold is down, it's 2 by 10's in wood which lets me pull it up easily to get in and do stuff. And on it goes, it is a lot of fun and every one enjoys working on it.

Scary Boat!

slogging along

Things are going slowly but we are moving along. The bow section is structurally complete, that is the steel work; all the finish work remains, but that is carpentry and will be done later. The engine room and fuel tanks are done, so we will be doing the cleanup, painting the engine room- preparing it to receive the 8/71 and all the other machinery going in. Yesterday I started decking over the hold and the guys are starting to extend the main cabin across the length of the boat. We found some bad spots in the bottom- Joyce was power washing the bottom and water was spraying up into the boat, always a sure sign you got a problem. Still to do: windows and doors, helm, electrical and plumbing, the bottom, anchor and winches, electronics, a tender, and the list goes on and on. It's a good thing we're enjoying this.

The weather has been brutally hot and humid, but we still manage to really enjoy Louisiana with its music and food, its beautiful countryside and endlessly amusing local critters.

Getting the cabin framed

Here's Randy putting steel in place for the rear of the cabin.


With Lorenzo, adding more steel


Looking back from the helm

This weekend we didn't do anything much- it was very relaxing. Saturday morning, we strolled downtown and visited Shadows on the Teche, the original house here built by the Weeks family. It has frontage on the Bayou Teche, but their land stretched back for miles into what became New Iberia.

The serpentine Bayou Teche was the Mississippi three thousand years ago. Our mighty efforts keep it on its present course- but it really wants to come back this way.

working on de boat

things are moving slowly. Welding is hard exacting work and many passes have to be made with varying types of rods to get it right, especially on the fuel tanks. I also slowed down progress by adding a lot of new work as ideas came or were suggested to me, like the bedroom in the bow, the raised ceilings, the smaller fuel tanks that were not original plans. I'm anxious to get the sucker back in the water and moving but there is still a tremendous amount of work to do. It is also HOT AS HELL and very HUMID, but fuck it, I'm retired and on no particular schedule, joyce is having fun doing art with the kids at the park, Louisiana is sweet and the boat stuff is fascinating.

Installing the bow thruster

here's John installing in the tube (bow thruster will go inside)

John, through the tube


Randy, working on steps up to the pilot house






Other boats in the yard