Random Ramblings

So we 5 took the ship out around the harbor to see how it did and to see how we did. It was not as smooth as it could have gone but it could have been way worse. I'm not going to tell you what happened because we don't need that spreading around! Lol but we left, we made it around & we successfully docked again. 😅 And boy was it stressful for everyone! 😳 We did get to talk to probably a dozen people who were happy to see the boat moving because it had been sitting since it was started being built long before we bought it. We also had a crowd of people (tourists) watching us manouver her back to dock. Videos & pictures are out there somewhere!  I took a couple of video of us while we were underway.  https://youtu.be/C3DL7eyW6oM

So there is a main access ladder located between the galley and the wheelhouse that can be used to access the deck, the galley, the wheelhouse, the captains cabin, and the engine room. So that's 5 "floors" in a 14 foot height.  So you might ask "An elevator? Really?" Yes my friends, an elevator!  And here is why: 1: because it's a ladder we'd have to traverse multiple times a day.  2: it would be hard to climb up & down a ladder with 1 hand if you are carrying something, nevermind something heavy. 3: because we can 😜 how freakin cool would it be to have an elevator on the ship?!?!  Can you imagine me taking the time & care to safely traverse a ladder with my numb feet several times a day? Can you imagine Dan carrying tools or a septic tank down the ladder? He did this. He had the bruises to prove it. Can you imagine us doing this in the decades to come? So I present to you, my fine friends, the prototype frame of a working elevator. Built with w

 So we haven't tried out the stove for cooking yet. I feel like when I get there I'm going to need to learn how to use it. Or get a new one!  The stove is cast iron and runs on diesel fuel. Dan lit it up and took the stove covers off and 🔥🔥. It heats up the entire galley & dining area so it can be used for heat too.  The downside to it getting hot enough to heat a room is it's hot you can't touch it for quite a while after the fire is out because it's cast iron.  But I had a little cast iron toy stove like this when I was little and I loved it so it's kind of cool to have a cast iron stove for real. 🙂 Here are 2 videos of the stove in action. https://youtube.com/shorts/f6szd5XmOYY?feature=share https://youtube.com/shorts/kzRPEru_9QU?feature=share

This is the 2nd time I'm typing this post; I was almost done yesterday, just needed 1 picture and it erased the whole thing. I was most displeased. So let's try this again shall we? Welcome aboard!  This is a general layout of the boat. The wheelhouse, complete with a giant steering wheel that isn't actually hooked up to anything yet. 😁 The boat is actually steered by a controller with a few buttons right now. There is a bow thruster that makes the boat go sideways and a propeller and rudder in the back.  This is the front of the boat deck from on top of the wheelhouse We almost have a bathroom. However when ordering off Amazon sizing isn't always correct lol The galley. Working sink. And a diesel fueled cast iron stove. Super cool! Probably won't be using it cuz I'm not that good but 🤷🏼‍♀️ who knows. I have videos of the stove working as a heat source I'll have to post! Dining tables for 20...or for

So this is the 1st post about the boat. I'll try to regularly keep this up. At the end of June when I get there I'll do a video tour for everyone. It's technically a "super yacht" because it's so long. I haven't seen it in person yet. I've seen pictures and video but Dan, Cassidy & now John have seen it.  It's a work in progress. The structure, masts, engine room & galley are complete. We are going to pull the boat at the end of June to get the hull scraped and painted. We are working on getting a sail plan that matches what we want. Then we have the bathrooms, bedrooms & "entertainment" rooms to do... basically the interior 3 holds are ours to design. With 4 boys/men obviously the plan is to make it look like a pirate ship 🏴‍☠️ 🤷🏼‍♀️ John apparently likes the job of chasing the birds off the boat. Dan had to get the boat pressure washed when he got there because the bird poop was so bad! John also says the rooms are "

So the soccer tournament is over. ⚽ It's was fun.  My husband and youngest are now driving to CA to our boat.  My middle son flew this morning back to WV where our oldest is for a week long Younglife camp with his WV friends. I'm excited for him because he hasn't seen them in a year.  I am flying all by my lonesome back to AK. I have 2 weeks to pack up the camper into a storage unit, the camper is tentatively sold as long as the buyers house sells, which it should considering the Juneau housing market.  I know it's only 2 weeks and I shouldn't complain but it feels longer.  At the end of June all 5 of us will reconverge in CA on the boat for a month, then we go to WV for 2 weeks so I can see my friends who I miss more than the kids miss their friends apparently & have Dr & dentist appointments because I'm weirdly sentimental about the boys switching Drs from the one they've had since our oldest was a baby. 🤷🏼‍♀️ So as I sit at Sea-tac 5hrs before m

Well the time has come for us to finally (finally!) Hopefully get the boat up to Juneau. I wanted to sell the camper (travel trailer) we are living in in the summer instead of waiting until the boat is here in the fall because I was afraid no one would buy a camper in the fall in Juneau Alaska.  So we put it on craigslist and 3 days later it's conditionally sold to a couple that are in the process of selling their house. There is a huge market in Juneau for sellers because there are way more people than houses...hence why we got a camper & the campground we are at is completely full.  So we are currently in Seattle for my youngest son's soccer tournament. Middle school and they are flying because that's how you travel for sports in Juneau. Still amazing to me.  After this weekend I will be back in Juneau for a month while my husband & son 3 head to the boat in California for the summer to work on it and get it ready to go. Son #2 is flying back to WV where son #1 cu