NEW POST NEW POST NEW POST

People of the world you can now rejoice. Your favorite boat builder has returned to the blogging scene. Thousands of emails, postcards, and phone calls can't be ignored forever. My keyboard is covered in dust and this first post back has added pressure on it to be great so lets get cracking. The picture to the left is a couple of days old but as you can see the 36' Calvin is nearing completion. All the fiberglassing is completed, the exhaust is finished and the below deck lobster tanks are plumbed and ready to go. Not pictured is the aluminum culling tray that John built and the aluminum trap slide that is being built (the two most impressive things will be in tomorrows post so check back in 24 hours). Rebuilding a deck can be a discouraging proposition because if you do a good job the boat looks exactly the same as it did when we started. Rip out all the bad and replace it with the good. This project has created more work, another boat showed up today to get the deck replaced. It will be nice to just tell the crew "do what you just did" while its fresh in their minds. This boat is 128% better than it was when it arrived at the shop and I think that the owner is going to be extremely happy with it. In case you haven't read all the old posts, this boat has.....

1. new fuel tanks (that don't leak)
   
2. new lobster tanks (with a sick water management system)
3. new exhaust (wrapped with high temp blankets)
   
4. new deck (raised, repitched, and rugged)
   
5. lifting rails (boat will gain 2.2 knots)
   
6. rope locker drain (locker had 13-18 gallons of water in it when it arrived)
7. repaired outside shaft box and rudder step (just all around better)

The best part about all this is that the job was generated by the web site, dude in RI sees the site, makes the call, and we get the work. Exactly why the internet was created. The blog was leading to more interest in the company and I should have recognized that it was becoming an important part of my job (even though I don't get paid for it). Anyway this boat is gone next week and we have a new deck to build. The posts won't be focused on that project (since it would be a repeat of the previous 20 posts) and I will be focusing on the 38' Northern Bay that will become the number one priority. Met with a fisherman from NH on Friday, possible new lobster boat but it still in the early phase and I don't want to get too excited.

How am I going to get back all the fans that I lost during my hiatus?

An interesting bit of information for people with older diesel motors in their boats......

The federal government has put up 300 million dollars into a clean diesel program, they pay for half of the motor and half of the installation if you apply and qualify for the program. I guess they are trying to eliminate as many of the tier 1 motor that they can. Every state has a different set of procedures to apply for this money and the dead line for application (in Maine) is March 27th. Today I wrote up an estimate for a local lobsterman that was in the process of applying for some of the free cash. If you have any questions that I can help you with leave a comment or send me an email though www.clarkislandboatworks.com. It will be interesting to see how many people get approved and how many hoops they have to jump through to get the checks. If you are thinking about repowering I would strongly suggest looking into it.... fill out a piece of paper and maybe get 50 grand from the greatest country on earth. The repower doesn't need to be completed until September of 2010, so send in your applications and call Clark Island Boat Works when you want to schedule the project. Then we can get some of that free money.

Shirts, Hats, and Coffee Cups are on the way (they should be here in time for the holiday season). If I'm going to start adding new content to the site then you guys have to start getting me new viewers (if everyone tells two friends then we should be over 100 views a day). Your welcome Internet.

The Deck is 63% Completed.

Don't doubt my numbers, I'm a professional. Everything under the deck has been glassed, sanded, and gel coated. Stringers are installed and the plywood (not pictured) for the outside 2 feet of deck has been fit. The boat is looking good, check out the post from February 23rd. I'm going to say all the plywood decking is screwed down by Tuesday at 2:30pm. Possibly optimistic but its good to have goals. Dan Jr. and Jeff are responsible for most of the work on the 36' Calvin this week. Jeff's woodworking skills mixed with Dan Jr.'s fiberglassing skills, the perfect team. The exhaust parts left for Lewiston (Infab) today and the exhaust wrap should be done next week. Once the exhaust parts return the muffler can be installed and the boat can be finished. The reconditioned propeller returned from H & H, just like new at a fraction of the price.

The center console, as promised, completed. I was able to glass and sand it very quickly because the fiberglass was kicked in about 9 minutes. With an outside temperature of 33 degrees it was near 80 degrees at the top of the shop. I started messing around with instrument placement, no cool spot for anything. There will be a series of compromises until a functional arrangement can be made. Still waiting on the fiberglass angle that we ordered last week to arrive so the fly bridge hatches can be completed. Getting the console finished was a good step to take, I should be able to putty and finish sand it tomorrow. The steering cylinder arrived today, it is enormous, and in the words of the salesman "bulletproof". If I can get the owner to make some decisions on the captain's chairs the building on this boat can be completed and the finishing stage can begin.

SHOP NEWS SHOP NEWS SHOP NEWS.

Moved some boats around...... "Mirage" outside "Deduction" inside building A.

John made another stainless steel cage. Otto sanded the hull of "Miss Hannah"

Clay was across the driveway again, and I already told you about the two boats in the main shop.

A small boat arrived for repairs, Dan talked to the owners, I'm not sure what needs to be done.

How many more of these do I need to write? Am I still one behind? Would you order Clark Island Boat Works merchandise if it was available? Are any of you interested in buying a boat? Will ending a post with 6 questions lead to more comments?