New hull arrives............and more.

We must be getting close to completing the 38' Northern Bay, lots of expensive parts keep showing up via UPS. The windlass pictured is a Muir Atlantic 1200 and will be used to raise and lower the anchor rope. Sometimes I'll type a sentence like that and feel like I'm over explaining the post. But for every person that says "I know what a windlass is I didn't require the additional explanation" there is a person that says "what's that metal thing in the picture??" And for every two people that make those comments there is another two people that are saying "get back to typing about boat stuff, I don't care what these fictional people might or might not be saying." Anyway, the windlass will require 12volt power run to the motor through 00 cable. There will be three ways to operate it: wireless remote control (very cool), UP/DOWN switch located at the lower helm station (less cool), and a manual hand winch (not cool). Under the windlass has been reinforced with a backing pad and extra fiberglass to withstand the added strain. Lots of wires need to be run to make everything work correctly but now that it's mounted the difficult part of the job is completed.

Speaking of expensive boat parts, the solid backed stainless steel flat bar arrived and as you can see from the photo has been installed. Adding the silver has really improved the look of the gray PVC rails. The toe rails have been held back from the bow to leave space for the anchor roller/pulpit that will be installed as soon as it is fabricated. The side decks have been white gelled and now all the hardware (cleats, deck plates, etc...) can be installed. After everything has been installed a 1" white border will be taped off and then gray non-skid will be rolled on the remaining areas. A poor explanation that will be crystal clear after a photo is uploaded at a later date.

One of the larger problems with the galley on this boat was deciding where to put the garbage can. The winning idea was to build a tip out area to the right of the stove that will house a 36 quart garbage pail that would accept 13 gallon bags. Thanks to the power of digital photography and the Internet I was able to get the size and style of the trash can approved in minutes and the crew was able to cut out the door before the day was over. The goal will be to leave enough space behind the trash to store a full trash bag. However, looking inside the cabinet there might not be enough room to accommodate this goal.



The 32' Osmond arrived yesterday so now there are three boats in the main shop. Dan took some time today getting the boat on its lines. Following the recommendation of H & H Marine we set up the bow of the boat about 3" high. We'll spend the next couple days getting materials ordered to start building and I hope to have some bulkheads installed sometime next week. The boat has to be done by February 2010 (not sure if that's the
beginning or the end of that month) so we have to get going. Hopefully I'll still have time to post updates........

If you want to see video of the hull arriving at the shop click this link.

LINK

The boat that the blog sold......

Most of you were probably under the impression that I had been injured in some type of boat building accident that rendered my hands useless. What else could account for no blog posts?? Truth be told I can be lazy when it comes to keeping up with my web work (ask the gal that runs my site). I am back behind the keyboard and you will be pleased to hear that the blogs will be starting up again with the type of regimented entries that led to the Clark Island Boat Blog to become the 73rd highest rated Maine boat building blog (this fact is open for debate). Anyway, we have another boat to finish. The boat will be a 32' Osmond Beal for a gentleman in Bermuda. He was surfing the web and stumbled onto our site and after he voted "yes" on the "are you ever going to buy a boat" poll he felt obligated to follow through on his click. The rest of you (I won't list your names) should follow his lead and order your boat today. Once all the Bermuda orders start pouring in the waiting list may delay your project so call now, our operators are standing by.

Today I made the trip to H & H Marine (click on the name if you want to check them out) to inspect the hull before it was delivered. Everything looked great and the guys at H & H were friendly and helpful. I told them I would try to sell another boat so keep their hulls in mind when you are placing your order. The hull will be in the shop by Thursday baring any craziness.

The owner has taken great care in making a list of things he wants included in the boat and seems like he has been thinking about this for a while. Selecting the engine is the only part of the project that is producing stress at this point, but he is looking for a reliable motor that can be easily serviced in Bermuda. So if anyone has any suggestions please leave a comment about great experiences with motors in Bermuda.............

SHOP NEWS SHOP NEWS SHOP NEWS

Dan and Clay have been rebuilding an old Novi (new deck, new wheelhouse, new side decks)
Dan Jr, Jeff, and I have been slugging away on the 38' Northern Bay (pushing it toward the finish line)
John has been making aluminum doors and hatch frames for the 38' Northern Bay (along with 59 other smaller metal projects)
There are two skiffs in yard that need minor repairs.

So as you can see everything at CIBW is looking great........... except for the online store. I had my first order for CIBW gear and then quickly received an email from Zazzle that claimed that my stuff was violating copyright laws. Apparently the Grateful Dead own any skull shaped drawing with a lightning bolt through its head so I'm going to have to come up with something else to put on our shirts and mugs (ideas in this area would be appreciated). Maybe just "CIBW ROCKS" or "AFTER I PAYED MY BILL AT CIBW ALL I COULD AFFORD WAS THIS SHIRT/MUG" or "SAVE A BOAT BUILDER, BUY A BOAT" or "I WISH I HAD BETTER WAYS TO END POSTS".