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.

It’s amazing what we can accomplish when we’re in it together.

Alan and two helpers working on one of Seeker’s mermaids in Shasta California.

Ellie and Brooklyn scaling the mermaid.

New dust connection hose. 🙂

The Canadians have arrived. Father and son, Jack and Robert from Grimsby Ontario.

Betsy helping unload the main mast.

Bart and Johan prepping for welding.

First 5 sections of the Mizzen.

Looks like we are going to have to finish the sails before we build the tender.

Growing the Sewing Table

Tinka celebrating Johan’s return from Sweden.

I endured 30 seconds of the presidential debate last night.  I saw nothing presidential, honorable or respectable.   Only two rabid dogs. If you stay too long on the side of the baiting pit you too become covered in their mud and excrement.   So I Seek something true and find it in the words of the poet.

Hannes Stauffer, Brenzikofen Switzerland

David Sharp, Groveland, California

Jim and Nancy Bambenek

Hannes flew to the USA from Switzerland, purchased and old Volvo to get around, and spent 57 days traveling the length of the Mississippi on a raft.  David rode in on a bike from Northern California  on a loop through the USA, and has build his own boats including a trimaran.  Jim and Nancy spend weeks each year traveling about the USA in their camper enjoying outdoors.  They all have a desire to learn, share their skills, and to make the most of life.   Building Seeker is a passion for me, but it is also a magnet for people I love learning from.   Seeker crew continue to amaze me.

OMG!  Their working on an outboard again!   Someone stop them.

I just love the diversity of people that come to help build Seeker.  From tall ship captains, to truck drives, to nuclear reactor design engineers.  Everybody has a skill and knowledge that becomes part of the boat.   Danial and Rob, a pair of engineers from San Antonio, Texas stopped by and we put them to work testing the ROV’s tether and lend some inspiration.   It was great to meet two young engineers that had a passion for building an racing.  There car was with them and then were on a trip to Nebraska to compete. These are the kind of engineers that I love to see.  The ones that get dirty, think outside the box, and have a love for what they are doing.  Seeker crew are Awesome!

For details and updates on the tether see:  Winch & Cable