Paul Hatch
Sand Spring, Oklahoma
Andrew Logan
Toledo, Ohio
Eric Towell
Toledo, Ohio
Holly Rupp
Toledo, Ohio
Eric and Holly drove in from Toledo Ohio to work all weekend. By some strange coincidence, Andrew Logan also from Toledo Ohio dropped in and stayed long enough that I loaned him some work cloths and put him to work. Jack dropped by as well as Paul Hatch from near by Sand Springs. And Bart to the mix and we had a great crew and got a lot done.
Thanks to everyone! –Doug
The mundane, the bland, the ordinary, is waiting on the self for us at every big box store and a robot at Amazon is moving around millions of these items daily. A dive through our neighborhoods and house after the same house displays the same consumer-off-the-shelf decorations. An inflatable pumpkin for Halloween, some wire reindeer for Christmas. We drive the same cars, live in the same houses, wear the same cloth, vacation at the same places. We may be alive, but we are brain-dead. We disdain the thought of being herd animals yet we follow along like good little sheep. And worse we incriminate those that take a different path. “Not true of me?” you say? Really?
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” –Pablo PicassoDream Big, Work Hard, Stay Focused, and Surround Yourself with Good People.
Measuring the height for the floor supports.
I’ve had a wonderful vacation. Met some great people from all across the USA and an old friend Johan from Sweden. We got plenty of sun and exercise and we happened to get a ton of things done on this little boat project we have in the front yard. Tomorrow I can go back to my regular day job and rest up.
Next weekend is Mermaid Weekend!
Conner Lowry from Dumas Texas
Tinka,seeing the world from above.
Dont’t forget your PPE
Bart Robinson
Figuring out the supports for the wood deck.
Marking the floor supports.
Cutting steel for the forward cabin.
Checking an anchor for fit.
Johan making last years welds perfect.
Salty Dog
Engine Room Floor Grid version of Twister.
A huge amount of work has gotten done and it’s because of a great crew. I’m on vacation, so Johan and I have been cutting steel and welding every day and this last weekend we had Randy and Arron in from Bismarck North Dakota who along with Bart, cut fuel tank hatch opening, hatches and drilled and tapped over 224 holes. And we had some great visitors too, who stayed long enough for us to put some tools in there hands. And Betsy has made great progress on learning to make Junk Sails. The Mizzen will be done soon and we’ll need to put a mast in the lawn just to give it a try.
All and all it’s shaping up to be a wonderful vacation. One of those that make you want to quit your job and work on your passion full time. Thank you to everyone for your support. A lot of things have transpired in my life to bring me to were I am and I am grateful for all of it. Embrace change and be true to yourself. LIVE!
People often thank me for being an inspiration, but I am only the organizer. I am not the inspiration behind Seeker. The people who get on a plane and fly across the ocean, or on motorcycles and ride down from North Dakota, or move to Tulsa to be my neighbor, or drive in from Butler Missouri to just see the boat and then end up spending the day helping out. Those are the inspirational people, and I am lucky enough to have them in my life. We are all capable of living richer and deeper lives and Seeker crew lead the way. –Doug
Fuel Tank Hatch
Rae and Bart helping Johan
Arron cutting tank lids and hatches.
Randy taking a welder.
Arron, Randy. Johan, Betsy, Theresa, and Rae.
Johan in charge of the forward deck.
I like my day job, but I love being on vacation and being about to work full time on the boat. You often hear that old adage “A boat is a hole in the water that you through money into.” And for many that certainly is the case. Their boat’s sit in storage yards or tied to a dock for years at a time. Then they complain about all the money they have to spend on it. If you love work, you’ve got exactly what you need if you have a boat. If you want to sit on a beach, then sell the boat and get a condo. But please stop bitching about it to those of us who love the work.
Another fine day for boat building. We say good bye to Rob and Jack who headed back to Canada in the morning. We bid them a warm farewell and that will last them through the winter. Johan stays on for a couple more weeks. We are have made great progress. The plates over the lead in the keels are sealed up tight and the frames above the keels will go in tomorrow. Rob got the frames in on the bow so we can easily mow down fiberglass and wooden boats. And Jack did us a solid by cleaning and rebuilding all of our clamps and bad extension cord ends. And Betsy got a couple more sail sections make up. We almost know what we are doing now.
