Blacksmithing, Casting, and Deadlights

DougMarch 29, 2016Casting, Portholes, Steel Boat

It is a pleasure when you get to meet people who enjoy working, sharing, and learning. They exude confidence, not arrogance, but a confidence that anything is possible. That confidence is infectious and instills courage. And without courage we do not live to our potential.

Feal the fear

and do it anyway. LIVE

Another Awesome Day in the Boat Yard.

DougMarch 26, 2016Steel Boat

Sean

Sean hammering out a dragon boat hook.

Jack

Tentacles

Sean working on a deadlight.

Talk with your hands.

David Collins up in VA testing the CNC code for the ships wheel.

Chris Faith’s first time welding ever!

That weld on the left is the second weld Chris Faith did.

Tentacles …and Other Boat Building Stuff

DougMarch 21, 2016Aluminum, Casting, Just for Fun, Steel Boat

Fore and Aft and Capstan

DougMarch 19, 2016Steel Boat, Winches

Excellent Day! Bart and I got the foremast step ready to weld in tomorrow. Jack and Dave worked on the rudder tube. And Grant & Serena got a capstan looking really good.

Rudder Reinforcements

Sand Blasted

Dave Kamp, Leclaire Iowa

Serena and Grant, Tulsa Oklahoma

Welding the Rudder Tube

The Next Casting

Anchor Winch Rebuild – Part 11 – Capstans & Lead & Wheel Too

DougMarch 15, 2016Casting, Helm, Steel Boat, Winches

Click here to contribute a quote for the Ship’s Wheel

Click here to contribute a Pilothouse Design

LIVE! One cup at a time

BetsyMarch 12, 2016Junk Shop, Steel Boat

Curtis Parsons with his Big Red Mug

Thank you to everybody who has found a place in their cupboard for an SV Seeker Big Red Mug! We use ours every day and just seeing the message LIVE! gives us the push to make the most out of each and every moment. We understand from viewers, that it also has passed the Keurig test, the teabag test and the chicken noodle soup test! Woohoo!

Proceeds from the sales in our Junk Shop, go towards materials and equipment. Be sure and take a look at our official apparel and other items and see if there’s something you might like.

Once more we will state… our junk is way overpriced and you can easily pick up a coffee cup for less at your corner store. With that in mind, please don’t feel obligated, and if you need your money for other things, then don’t you worry about us as we will keep on going one way or another… it might just take us longer to reach the water. The greatest thing about being involved with The Boat the Internet Built, is that your contributions can come in many ways. Money, labor, materials, ideas and just a plain old “atta boy” now and then is greatly appreciated.

The Cox boys with their Thermal Mugs

We have a new shirt coming in April and other designs and items in the works. As for shipping, we try to make a quick turnaround and so far, things have gone really well with the help of the U.S. Postal Service. We’ve sent items all over the world and so far, it’s been a positive experience.

If you have a great idea for a product, feel free to let us know your ideas. Thank you again for your support, we feel honored to call you our friend.

LIVE!

Rainy Day and Building Anyway

DougMarch 11, 2016Casting, Keels, Steel Boat

Started off nice but then the rain moved in. Our plans for rain paid off. While Paul was here, he and I build a rain cover for the temporary burnout kiln and its doing it’s job now. Hopefully we will get a break in the rain tomorrow afternoon and pour our second bronze anchor winch capstan. Tom and Coen have done an awesome job pouring lead this week and tomorrow we will complete the last 10 tons of lead ballast being added to the keels. Coen and I welded and ground on the first capstan and it is definitely a usable piece. And Tom made parts for mounting the wheel. Far away in Virginia, David Collins put the final touches on a 1/4 scale model of a dragon that will be part of ornamentation of the boat’s wheel. If you have not suggested a quote to be engraved in the wheel please do so here: Ship’s Wheel. So screw the rain. We had an awesome day!

David’s dragon for the wheel with the final touches.

Filling the voids in the first capstan with silicon bronze MIG wire.

Burning out the next capstan mold.

Wheel Gear Box Parts

Tom making a mount for the wheel’s gear box.

Tom and Coen working on the first capstan.

Molten Lead Mirror

Boat Dreams and Lead Ballast

DougMarch 9, 2016Casting, Keels, Steel Boat

Coen Van Wyk and his beautiful wife Shahnaz are in from South Africa and Tom Carroll from Chicago. I spend the day at the office, but they spent the day moving thousands of pounds of lead for the keels. Coen and Shahnaz are also building a boat and keeping a blog: To dream of the ocean

Shahnaz Van Wyk

Coen Van Wyk, Pretoria, South Africa

Tom Collins, Chicago Illinois

Another 2500 pounds of lead in the keel.

Ship’s Wheel

DougMarch 7, 2016Steel Boat

There are some amazingly talented people in this world and SV Seeker is fortunate to reach so many who want to share their skills. We often have folks sketch of a design for a part and then we adapt the design and go to work building it. So when I saw a design for a ships wheel offered up by David Collins, my thoughts where, that’s really cool, but that’s a lot of work. And then I learned that David was not offering the design; he was offing to create the complex pieces as well.

So I got busy working on the mount and David went to work sculpting the dragons.

Now we need your help. The wood ring provides a location for an inscription, and we are looking for suggestions. The inscription must reflect the boat. Inspirational, positive, adventurous, and sense of the community that has come together for this project. Please use the comments section below for your suggestions. THANKS! We have 7 we really like. You can vote for them here: We have picked 7 quotes! Vote for your favorite here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/svseeker/ And still add new ones.

David has created a 1/4 scale wheel and once the dragon is completed to his satisfaction he will create a 3D scan, enlarge the scan and cut the final piece on a CNC.