Launch!

Wow, I know it's been a while since we've blogged, but I think you'll all understand why when you see just what we've been up to lately.  Our new home, Creeky, is finally in the water!  No less, we have already moved aboard.  She still has no mast and the engine isn't hooked up, but she's got a toilet, rudimentary electricity, some fun carpet, some cushions and mattresses, and just enough love to make it a wonderful home.  We are VERY happy to be aboard.

Here is a photo of Ivy enjoying some crackers and cartoon in her new home.

Here is how the story goes.  We scheduled to launch September 15th, but just a few days before the launch I discovered some nasty issues with our stuffing box.  It is an odd Scandinavian stuffing box manufactured by West Mekan.  It is a very good system, just not exactly well known here, so it was hard to find info or diagrams of the thing.  This PDF from the West Mekan site was about all I had to go on.  The oil based box was leaking the oil out and down the sterntube.  That obviously means it won't hold water on the outside and thus our launch was delayed.  A few days of digging around and I figured out which seal was installed incorrectly (oops).  After a lot of panic and cursing we were able to reschedule for October 5th (a cheaper day in boating world anyhow, so maybe the delay was a good thing).

Cleared for takeoff

At 10am on the 5th Barden's boat movers showed up with their big trailer and started loading her up.  Man what a site.  That boat has been sitting in that dirty stinky junkyard of a boatyard in Quincy MA for two years now.  I spent almost every single day this summer in that place and most of summer 2011 as well.  One of the yard workers quipped to me that he was sad to see the boat go because he would lose his privacy that was being provided by that big full keel along the fence.  har har.

Loading on the trailer

OVERSIZE LOAD:  yeah, no kidding.

I have to say that most of this boat wouldn't have been possible without the overwhelming support and help from my friend Dave Nelson.  Dave is the guy (along with his other half Christine) who bought the Fitzcarraldo from us a few years ago.  Not only did he loan the Fitz back to us so that we'd have a home until Creeky could launch, but he came down to help with various large projects throughout the summer.  His boat knowledge has been super helpful and we are both entirely grateful for his help.  That said, Dave was on his way down to help oversee and add moral support to the launching ceremonies.  He met us at the yard and he drove chase car while I led the caravan over to Marina Bay in North Quincy where the launch was scheduled for roughly noon.  Along the way, he managed to get a few good shots of the boat going down the road.

Neato.

Jenny and Ivy were already at Marina Bay awaiting our arrival.  We got lucky with Ivy and she fell asleep in her stroller just as the boat arrived, so Jenny was able to take pictures without too much baby distraction.  A screamy kiddo could have added tenfold to the already high nerve levels.  We were both very thankful for a sleepy Ivy.  Anyhow, words can't describe the nerves, the excitement, the stress, the worry... this boat is all we have.  All the money we've ever been able to save in the world, and it is our home and we were about to chuck the thing into the ocean to hope it floats...... If this process were to fail, we'd probably scrap it or sell it for a minimum and move on with our lives in a different direction.  There is no boatbuilding fund left, we couldn't afford to keep it another season on the hard, this was an all or nothing effort.  So here's how that went:

Passed out just in time for the big event.

In the slings: 15 tons exactly.

Our neighbors who drove Jenny over stayed to watch.

The Marina Bay crew offered to touch up some bottom paint.

Quadruple inspections all around.

It seems like there are some pictures missing here in the middle because the actual launch process is all video.  Our internet has been sketchy so it hasn't uploaded.  I'll place the video here when we get it.

Still in the slings but we are below decks checking every hull penetration.

Dave and I, still inspecting, but it all looks good.  Gave Jenny the thumbs up right about here.

After a short tow tow, our first arrival at a dock!

Me, trying not to look like I am about to puke from nervousness.

Creeky against the grey foggy Boston sky.

Beautiful.

Still snoozin.

Time for the Ceremony, SeaGlass riesling, perfect.  

We each had a glass and poured one over the side for Creeky.  

Feet.

Wakey wakey, look at your new home!

Ivy immediately takes the helm, but little does she know it isn't hooked up.

There is more to the story as there were minor issues and some nervous moments, but all is well.  She seems to float pretty darn straight, though a bit high in the bow.  I still have no ground tackle aboard, which is 400+ pounds all told.  The ground tackle combined with the rig, which is forward of center, should just about even things out.  I'll likely have to raise the waterline a couple inches next time she's out of the water, but that's no big deal.  At least it's straight and I think that's pretty good considering the lack of drawings or designs I had to go on.  She keeps the water out, and she keeps us dry and warm.  That's what counts.

In the meantime, we towed Creeky over to our trusty old Constitution Marina where we will again be spending the winter, and perhaps even next summer.  This gives us some time to breathe and some time to relax.  We can install the engine and step the rig on our own time.  From here on out, things look good.

And as i type this, Ivy is comfy in Creeky, watching Charlotte's Web.

Keel Breaker

Lead chopping with a 3.5 hp Poulan

A chainsaw really does work great for cutting up old keels.  Plus the lead "sawdust" generated from the process will make a great thickener to create a heavy epoxy slurry to help hold the big pieces in place.  The forecast for this weekend is looking better and better, which means we might make some big progress on Creeky.  Fingers crossed!

 *boop*

In the meantime, since we are stuck on this big ol' powerboat and can't afford to run it around the harbor we've been taking the time to go do some little things ashore that we've been missing.  We took Ivy to a farm stand that has a little petting zoo yesterday:  http://pennimanhill.com/  She got to pet a goat, and she was thrilled.  This morning, when we read her little book about goats she kept petting the goat pictures.  Cute kid.

-Justin

Rudder Time!

As you all know, Jenny and I are trying to finish our new boat on a very shoestring budget. As such, I've done nearly all of the work myself or with the help of friends. Generally, my friends bring the talent and knowledge, while I try to learn along the way. Nonetheless, there are only so many hours in a day and since I work full time I simply have to find ways to hang out with the family. The one big project I decided to contract out was the rudder. Below is a picture of the rudder as we found it originally, hanging limply behind Creeky, swinging in the breeze.

The Rudder: Before

You may have noticed there is a giant hole in our rudder. Henry, whom we purchased the boat from, had planned to put a trim tab style self-steering gear on. He cut the hole for the tab, but never got further than that. It's good that he didn't get any further because those systems turned out to be rather sub-par. The downside is that we now have a giant gap to fill

Jenny modeling with the rudder.

Luckily, I have a friend who worked at Inshore Boat Shop in Marion Massachusetts. He still has connections there and he offered to turn the rudder over to the boatyard and have those guys do it as a friend of a friend favor. Of course, this isn't free of charge, but at least it was a discount.

When we got it back from them it looked like this:

All patched up!

They did a fantastic job. After the rudder had lain exposed to the Rhode Island winters for 20 some years there was a lot of work to be done. The guys in the yard grinded away at the already gaping hole and made it bigger. That gave them access to the stainless crossbars. They re-welded the joints to give it renewed strength. Then they took 3/4" marine plywood, bolted numerous layers of it together, and soaked the whole block in epoxy. That created the filler piece to take up the space. Almost an entire sheet of plywood fit into there. They bolted the plywood to the crossbars and then they put a layer of closed cell foam on top of the ply. The foam was then used to sculpt the shape of the rudder.



It is hard to tell from those pictures, but after they got the shape right and glassed the hole shut, they put a couple layers of biaxial glass over the entire rudder for me. That strengthened everything up and made it into one cohesive and solid unit again. I'm very pleased. It was costly, but worth it. As a way to save a little bit of cash, they returned it to me in a rough state of finish, with the fiberglass completely unsanded.

This is only the first coat of the fairing putty. It's still pretty darn rough right here.

I managed to convince Constitution Marina to give me a small corner of their workshop to let me do the finish work. I used Quickfair fairing putty. 3 coats, and many hours of sanding. I also added a couple more layers of fiberglass to the bottom of the rudder--can't have too much strength there. I am thoroughly pleased with the end result. Yesterday I finally got to hang it in place on the boat.

The rudder hanging happily in place.

I'm still sorting out all the parts I need for the stuffing box at the top. I'm lacking a few nuts and bolts for the gudgeon/pintle at the bottom... None of that is a huge deal immediately, just some things that still have to be fixed. Nonetheless, the rudder itself is DONE. that is a huge step in the right direction.

The Rudder

In the meantime, all is well. Sorry about the lack of posts.... babies and boats, boats and babies.

Wingaersheek Beach

Life is busy, and we haven't had time to update in quite some time. Between the baby, working from home, trying to make healthy meals, preparing Madrigal for winter, working on Creeky when we get a spare moment...well, you get the point. Busy busy.

Sadly, the blog gets put on hold at times like these - times when we should be writing the most and cataloging our adventures of life.

Ah well, so it goes.

In the meantime, we went to Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester with some dogs and some friends and took a few photos. Willie had a blast and it was a beautiful day.

The weather has been unseasonably warm, hot even. We've had more days in the 60s than I can even count, and only a small handful of days below 50. It has been nice for the heating bill, that's for sure.

Ivy is growing by leaps and bounds. She's taking a step here and there now (unassisted, without holding onto anything!) and mastered crawling long ago. She's in swimming lessons now at the Y and enjoying those immensely. She really seems to love the water.

Madrigal is doing well and keeping us dry and toasty on those few cold days that we've had. The rug heater has done wonders for us, keeping Ivy nice and warm on those cool mornings when she wants to crawl and practice standing.

Willie is doing well and gets along fantastically well with Ivy. The two of them are so fun to watch together, and it's nice to be able to trust him so much with her.

Creeky's projects are few and far between, but Justin is still making progress. Currently he's working on the rudder and he's getting close to finishing that project up soon.

And Justin and I are doing great. We're both quite possibly a bit overwhelmed with everything going on in life, but Ivy helps remind us to stop and enjoy every moment. It's just so fascinating to watch her progress day to day, week to week. She changes so quickly and it's so happy and sad to see. I can't believe that little baby we had just 8 1/2 months ago is now this little girl, and I sort of wish that she had grown up just a wee bit slower. At the same time, I am looking forward to everything to come. Bittersweet, for sure...but mostly just sweet.

Summer 2011

Wow, where to start? It was such a... different summer. There were opposing forces at work: Ivy and Creeky. That made it particularly difficult. I love this little girl like I love no other, and I find it strange that I still manage to grow more attached to her each and every day. Creeky, as we've affectionately come to know our Creekmore 45 project boat as, owns a love of a different sort. Creeky stokes a fire in me that keeps a dream alive: we can live on a boat, as a family, having enough personal space to move around and live comfortably and we can do it on a budget while raising a family and enjoying ourselves. That is something we really believe in. Making that dream come true is a mightily oppressive task. The dilemma is that in order to work on Creeky, I (Justin) have to spend time away from Ivy. Time away from Ivy is a sad thing. To make it worse, time away from Ivy equals time away from Jenny. As one last bummer, all of that time away from them is being spent on a project that eats a tremendous amount of money, which means I have to work full time plus overtime in order to make it happen. All told, I lose a lot of time at home.

This is what time with Ivy looks like

This is what time with Creeky looks like

We know all the headache and hardships are worth it though. If all goes well this boat is going to provide a beautiful and lovely home for DECADES. And it will be a home we can take anywhere, even back to Michigan to live near family for a while. That is something we would really enjoy. So, we plod on, with me in the boatyard and Jenny at home watching Ivy by herself.

Now, I know I'm painting a pretty bleak picture here, and it just isn't true. Things aren't all that bad, I just want to make sure the blogger world knows what all this entails. I don't want to gloss it over and make it look easy for any would be amateur boat builders. However, I certainly take days off of the boat. We simply can't afford to have me work on it every day. That means I can kind of take my time. We get plenty of weekend days together, and very often we have splendid mornings together before I go in to work my afternoon shift at 3pm. When Ivy wakes us up at 6am and I don't leave for work til 2pm it makes for a very long morning--in a good way. We go to various parks and beaches. We take walks around Weymouth. And one of the great bonuses of this year is that we seem to have acquired our very own back yard.

The Yard at Thayer's Landing

Thayer's Landing is great for many reasons. This year, it improved mightily over last year. Jeff, the ever gracious and generous marina owner decided to make a few improvements. First, he purchased a 10 foot picnic table with a large umbrella. Shortly after that he went and purchased a huge Weber grill. On top of that, our friends Jon, Kelli, and Seth docked here this year. So any time I did get to stay home was great. It was a strange sort of achievement of the standard American dream: We had lovely place on the water with a fenced in back yard complete with all the picnic and BBQ equipment one could want. Many many hours were spent in the lawn enjoying a beer and eating at the picnic table. Ivy learned to crawl in this yard. That means a lot to me. Mind you, she's still a sloppy crawler, and it is really more of a belly flop/scootch/clamber/fall/crawl/giggle/wiggle and scoot. Nonetheless, we'd spread a blanket on the grass and set her down and she'd do her best to get across the blanket and pet Willie. Very cute, and a very effective learning method. After all, with such a small boat, a blanket on the grass really is the biggest crawl space we have.

This is the exact spot where Ivy spent hours trying to make her limbs propel her forward :)

And now fall is in the air. In between the boatwork and playing in the lawn with our sweet little girl, the summer has slipped away. In 2 weeks time we'll be back at Constitution, ordering shrink wrap and tying the boat in for the winter.

The picture doesn't show it, but it is cold and crisp,
with stiff north breeze. It's beautiful this time of year.

It'll be a very good winter, I'm sure. Creeky will be down on the South shore, too far away to run to every morning. And we really have to save our pennies for lead ballast, so I'll get to stay home a lot. Ivy will be walking soon, I have no doubt, at least by midwinter. We'll get to plod through the snow and chase Willie as he runs after snowballs...

Diesel

Great great news. When we got our Creekmore for free we had the option of buying an old Westerbeke W80 along with it for $1000. The westerbeke was not in the boat, it was just on blocks in Henry's garage. It is a 1981 model and had NEVER been started. Once. So essentially brand new, but 30 years old. And of course the w80 model didn't sell so hot or last too long. So it was a real gamble to buy the engine. We bought it anyway. Of course.

Monday, our friend Miles came down to help me try to start it for the first time. We rigged up a diesel day tank, a new starting battery and a garden hose to the engine, which is loosely mounted inside the Creekmore.

It started instantly on the first turn of the key. I was amazed. So so amazed and so incredibly relieved. It didn't leak a single thing. It seriously ran like a brand new engine... which really... it is.



The only thing we didn't do was run the exhaust water out (since there is no thru hull for such a thing yet). So don't mind the water blowing all over into the bilge haha. That was planned!

This week, we are very proud of our Westerbeke. Every once in a while it's nice to have part of the plan fall into place.

One project at a time.

We're getting there....

We used the same 1/2 inch scratch resistant polycarbonate sheeting for the companionway drop-in board as we had used on the pilothouse windows. It is nice crystal clear and durable stuff. Very happy with it, despite the price! The upright posts are 3/8 inch stainless barstock drilled with 1/4 inch holes and through bolted to matching uprights on the inside. I think it should work out nicely. The hatch itself is a Bomar aluminum hatch made just for companionways. We boughtt that from Henry along with the rest of the hatches he had purchased for the boat nearly 30 years ago.

Fun stuff.

-Justin.

Another Creekmore Update

Creeky's Blue!

Before and After

Ivy's growing like a weed...

Gnawing. On. Everything.

And Justin cut my hair.