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".

Pontoon Prototype

Impressive Pictures, Post to follow.

Since no one is buying mugs........

I have to keep building boats. These are the house batteries, jammed under the deck (aft starboard side) in a custom battery box. The lexan shield was added to prevent accidental contact with the battery terminals. Because of the distance between the batteries and the electrical panel the leads needed to be 4/0 battery cable. Running that size cable can be difficult because it is so large that it doesn't always want to bend the way you want it to. We were optimistic and tried to run 3 pieces of cable at once. Jeff wrestled the cable for 20 minutes by himself then I tried to help but the engine room isn't built for two full sized humans. I offered to take over the project and quickly wished that I had ignored it. Holding three pieces of 45lb wire over your head while trying to operate two cordless drills and handle clips and screws sounds a lot easier than it is. The project was a complete success and no one was injured and no tools were smashed. Once the "house" battery cables were run, the positive lead for the "start" battery needed to be run. The "start" battery is actually two 8D batteries tied together to form a SUPER BATTERY. Another 4/0 cable run to the area where the battery switches will one day live and the heavy cable on this boat is completed. The 8kw generator needed to get some 12 volt power so we jumped power off the start battery, a smaller switch in the engine room (pictured) will give the end user the ability to kill the power to the genset if something unexpected happens.
We also installed the second air conditioning unit in the port side bench inside the wheelhouse. Sea water is pumped to both units with a heavy duty 110 volt pump, after the water runs through the units it is directed to a tee to combine the flow and sent overboard through a stainless steel thru hull (not pictured). Both units have a built in drip pan to collect condensation and this water will drain into the bilge and be pumped overboard using the primary bilge pump. John is working on a custom air handler for the upstairs unit to direct the cold air to the two vents, that haven't been installed yet.
A wall will have to be installed behind this air conditioner to separate it from the rest of the bench. Two wires and some duct work and the air conditioning will be completed. Today (Tuesday) I was able to build the bridge work for the steering cylinder in the lazzerette. Once it is sanded and gelled we will build a stainless steel plated to attach the cylinder to the boat. The helms should be arriving on Thursday or Friday and then we will finally have all the steering equipment (except the steering wheels).

SHOP NEWS SHOP NEWS

Clay phillycladed the new deck on the repair job in the back bay.
Dan Jr. packed the outside box, put on the propeller, installed the rudder, and reinstalled the steering on the repair job in the front building.
John made an aluminum hydraulic tank and built two more cages (one steel and one stainless)
Dan reinstalled a repaired hauler motor and assisted with the phillyclad.
Jeff and I slugged away on the 38 Northern Bay.

More possible jobs headed our way, one guy is looking at getting a new wheelhouse put on his boat and another guy wants us to raise the roof on his boat (built for a 5'11" human.....he happens to be 6'7"). The readership has been holding steady on the blog, you guys are suppose to be forwarding the web address to all your friends. Thanks in advance.

Zazzle Dazzle

Get your exclusive CIBW Gear here.

The Blog brings in $$$.

More importantly the blog brings in a little bit of work. One of the faithful readers contacted me via email to inquire about a stainless steel cage for a 35' H & H. After a few more emails the kid shows up at the shop and wants the cage, a davitt, phillyclad, and two gallons of Newport green gel coat. This gives the welder a couple of jobs and it leads me to believe that typing on the computer might be a viable way to lure customers to CIBW. Thanks for the business. Short post today, monster post with 7 pictures tomorrow. The online store might be up and running today........

Instant Updates, as they occur

Three aft holes for hatches

Close up of the smashed out nidacore