Our progress was as follows – 4 bows on the first day, 4 on the second, 4 on the third, 8 on the fourth, and 12 on the fifth.
And then a day of rest, or should I say, a day of collapse! Fortunately, the weather held until we were done, we returned the man lift, finished the final diagonals, got some pallets, which will be a ‘floor’ in the shed for a work space, and also a ‘floor’ to stand on, or work from, as we work alongside the hull. We also have, courtesy of our landlord, some HUGE blocks to rest the boat on.
Today was the first day of rain since the snow over Hallowe’en weekend, and we welcomed the inclement weather, and being forced to stay indoors. We both took a nap before noon, and finally mustered some energy in the afternoon for a few errands. Good news on the errands is that I found a nice barn, with a heated indoor arena, about 3 miles away. We then bought winter boots for Henry, and both ladies at the shoe store are excited to be watching the new video on Juice Plus. So, in spite of us both feeling incapable of lifting anything much heavier than a glass of water, we still managed to get some fun things done with the business.
I’m excited that, soon, the boat will be here, and under cover, which will mean that our day can be somewhat scheduled, instead of ruled by the weather. No complaints – we were blessed with 5 consecutive days of clear blue skies and temps pushing 60 in November in Maine. Next step is figuring out how to move the tractor trailer out of the way (the one that got stuck in the field a few weeks ago) and then making a temporary road for the boat hauler to be able to park the boat in the shed.
Amazingly enough, after many, many conversations with contractors, house movers, scaffolding builders, foundation contractors, excavators, and temporary road contractors, we can use 3/4 inch plywood as a temporary road. We need a lot of it, but it can be used in the shed, on the pallets to make the floor, and then pulled off the pallets and be put back out on the field for the launch. My next project is to find out who’s throwing out lots of plywood, and see if I can get about 88 sheets! So, tomorrow is another day on the phone, calling construction and demolition places, as well and DEP and construction landfills. I also plan on calling the companies that build the molds for foundations – the people building foundations seem to keep their molds forever, but the people who build them must have a lot of plywood they throw out. These companies aren’t as easy to find I had hoped they would be, but I’m becoming more of a sleuth every day.
After we get the plywood, we will build a temporary road so that the tractor trailer can be moved out of the way, and then build the temporary road so that the boat can be delivered.
We will need many hands to help lift the spars (the main mast is 56 feet long, and the mizzen is about 30 feet long – both hollow, but both still very heavy). We will also need many hands to pull the greenhouse film up and over the peak of this building (it is very high!). So if you know of anyone who wants to volunteer, send them my way! This is, in fact, the hardest part of being someplace new – no network – but we’re working on it, and, like all the other challenges, I am certain we’ll find a solution.
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