Exiting, sterns first.
Yeehaw! Caesura made it out smooth and easy. Easy, at least, with the great help on hand. After nearly two years of wondering if I’d measured everything right, today was a big moment of truth. As expected, there is only one way to get a boat out – backwards and sideways – with only about an inch clearance on both sides.
Friends Joel Slezak, John Robinson and Tom Klippstein all made it happen, and are great friends to come on such short notice. They’re all interesting guys, too.
Joel and his girlfriend Erica started Free Union Grass Farm this year, raising pasture fed chickens, cattle and eggs selling them locally to restaurants, specialty markets and direct to the public. They started with nothing but an idea and 13 acres on Joel’s family farm, and are already going great guns, raising, butchering and processsing over 2000 chickens at a time, plus doing the eggs, beef, ducks, and holding other jobs, too.
John does freelance writing and photography, among other things, and has a yearlong portrait photo project underway. He was here last weekend taking pictures, and when he said he was free Wednesday I signed him up, which started the whole ball rolling. John’s photo blog is at ThreeSixtyFiveFaces.
Tom, of course, you met earlier. He’s been here several times to lend a hand. He and his wife Ruth are still staying true to the alternative life style they started 30 years ago at Springtree, Both extremely well read and well travelled, working only part time book-related jobs, getting most of their livelihood from living directly off their land and maintaining a very minimal, low impact, non-cosumerist life style, with much of what they own and eat made themselves or by friends.
Thanks guys! You’ll have guest of honor places at the final coming out party, for sure.
The rain didn’t even hold off long enough to get the boat out the door. Instead of putting it on saw horses in the yard to do some work until the rain started, we had to change plans, and moved it around to the front porch. I rigged up some tarp walls to keep the blowing rain off.
Terri (who is no longer fuming) shot video of the moment of truth. You can’t see it from this angle, but the boat is as close to the basement floor and the house wall inside as it is to the top step, all at the same time:
melonseed skiff, mellonseed skiff, melon seed, mellon seed
Nice job guys!
Thursday, September 30, 2010 – 04:46 PM
What a great job barry. Watching the progress for some time is inspiring, at the very least. I can’t wait to see her on the water. Fair Winds.
Saturday, October 2, 2010 – 08:00 PM
Take a chain saw to the side of the house under the little roof and go for a 16. You weren’t kidding about the close fit. You know that as soon as it hit the sunshine it was transformed from a work of art into a boat. I want to try it out someday.
Dave
Sunday, October 17, 2010 – 11:06 PM
Thanks, guys. Let’s just say there was heightened level of suspense as the critical moment approached. Did not want to break out the chainsaw.
Funny, I’ve always thought the little doghouse entrance to the basement, with the curved roof, looked like a boat, like it was built by someone who had built or loved boats. The house dates back to the 20’s, and curves like that are a ton of extra unnecessary work. There are a couple of more places around the house like it. Always made me wonder. And now, almost a hundred years later, there are boats going in and out of that door. Life is weird.
– Barry
Wednesday, October 20, 2010 – 12:33 PM