Work and pleasure

Special thanks to Zane Fanning  (a distant cousin and close friend) for coming to give us a hand today in the shop. We had him climbing over beams and ducking under head bumpers all afternoon and he was good humoured and hard working through it all. He also took some photos of us in the shop  which I will put in a later post.
We also had our friend and neighbour,Don Groves (facing in coveralls) stop in for a catch up on the progress.
We're back to work today after going to the launch of schooner Katie Belle in the tidal waters of the Shubanacadie River yesterday.  There were about 1000 people there to watch her slip into the water. A beautiful vessel and the guys sure had to know what they were doing in that fast flowing river. Can't wait to see her all fitted out with masts and sails.

We acquired the hawse pipes for the vessel last week when we went through the varied possessions of a collector of all things, Mike Parsons. We were invited to tour his yard and found these great pipes and made a deal for them on the spot. They will be perfect. We had a fantastic time travelling back through the decades (he has items from every decade) with him and his lovely wife, Val. 

Whew!

Officially got all of the deck Frames finished today. All of the full and half beams are in and bolted. They look fantastic  (to me anyway).

 Hard to tell but when you're sitting inside the vessel the beams are rounded like they are all converging toward a hub. It's an amazing sight. I could sit  there all day- but then I wouldn't get anything done.

We're going to put the last plank on now before we finish the deck.  It will be oak plank and the covering board will also be oak. 

We want to congratulate friends of ours, Evan and Nick Densmore, (cousins) who are launching their 80 foot schooner this coming Tuesday in the Shubanacadie  River. A beautiful vessel built by 2 fine  young men. Long may she sail, safely.