Looking Good

Time flies. And it’s way past time to update the blog. I’ll start with sharing this exciting photo. The inside of my eyeballs are doing fine–don’t they look great?

Here are some shots of what they get to see as I sip my morning coffee.

We had a magnificent series of snow storms in January.

I made it a point of directing the snowblower inward to my tree island all week, building a monumental heap we have christened Mount Fretwater. I’m hoping the daffodil bulbs deep beneath enjoy the extra moisture and extended nap.

The mule deer family in their cozy beds, awaiting the morning sun. Brrr.

The Acorn Woodpeckers taking charge of the birdfeeder.

It’s always fun to see ourselves pop up in the media. Here’s a Dawn Kish shot of Cricket, helping me unpack the Bert Loper boat on a trip a while back. My calves (left) are connected to the rest of me fishing things out of the bow hatch.

Off Center Harbor released a very sweet video of Cricket and I teaching McKenzie dory building at Lowell’s Boat Shop last November.
The McKenzie Drift Boat Class

Meanwhile, back in the boatshop, we’ve been busy. We finally got around to dealing with years’ worth of handles from the disposable chip brushes we use for so many things. They make us smile every day.

Fish in the early morning light.

Extensive boat repairs. Bruce brought by one of the wee boat models we made years ago when designing BOB. The five-minute epoxy had given out and we had to pull out a cluster of wee clamps to pull her back together.

Arroyo and Deanna came back from their wanderings in Mexico to finish up their Doryaks: Ripple and Colibri.

We designed a new piece of essential hardware from our foundry. They have acquired the name “Wombats” for reasons unknown.

We also blasted out yet another Doryak, Sandia.

Lydia’s family showed up for the delivery celebration, signing in on the breastplate and bowpost.

And away she goes. Mount Fretwater has turned into a snow goat.

We had a couple days off before our next set of boat builds, so Cricket and I decided to solve a challenge from a friend. Build a dory that both side panels can come out of a single sheet of plywood. Something for the kids to row around the pond. We shrank the Doryak by about 70% in every direction–which ends up at about 35% of the Doryak’s volume. We call it the Doryto. The shipwrights from Tse Kooh showed up to help us pull her together and enjoy a few celebratory beverages. We broke the boat once during assembly, and a second time when we pulled on the gunwales. We have a few adjustments to make for number two, but we’re already in love with number one: Water Bear.

Never enough clamps.

At 65 pounds, she’ll be easy to portage!

Roy and Glade retuned to work after their vacations, so we launched in on two Double Chubbles. Although they’re only about 13’6″, they seem enormous after so much time with Doryaks and the wee Doryto. Cricket is making bulkheads with our favorite new toy–a cordless track saw.