I'm not sure why I stopped blogging. I was tied into that group that paid me for my blog hits and they put pressure on me to blog frequently. I don;t care for that kind of pressure. I don't always have something to say. As Bob Dylan once said, "I'd give anything for an original thought right now". I still get overcome with grief over losing Spike. Can't see that changing anytime soon. I talk to him on his Facebook page. I like that but it often gets me down. The only time I am truly happy is when I am with my granddaughter Violet or I am buried in new work.
The QUAIL project kept me occupied for a while but it is on hold now waiting for the right time for the client to build. But I did enjoy that process a lot. I worked hand in hand with Jody Culbert who does all my 3D modelling work. Jody is truly amazing. Sometimes he knows what I want before I know what I want. He work is seductive and the clients love it. Before long, or so it seems, we have a virtual photo of the finished boat.
What's really fun is when Jody and I share his computer screen via Skype and he works his 3D magic while I boss him around making him try all sorts of whacky ideas. He's very patient with me. We are quite the pair. We look like we could be crusty old brothers. I'm the better looking one of course.
The thing that has been a lot of fun is Kim's FRANCIS LEE project. The build drug out at the school due to the schools scheduling but after a while Kim put four full time pros on the job in order to get it finished and out of the shop.
Now the boat is in the water after a couple more months of finishing details at CSR Marine in Ballard. We launched the boat last week. No fanfare. Just Kim and me standing there feeling pretty darn satisfied.
I love this photo taken by my old pal Neil Rabinowitz. Two old geezers geezering. I think the fact that you can't see our faces makes the shot more interesting. You have to finish the picture in your own mind.
The boat floats on its designed lines and has come in spot on for weight. I am very pleased that the hard work paid off. Now we just have to wait while the sails are being made by the Schatteaurs. Then we can go sailing and see exactly what we have created. Kim will have launching sheebang before that. I expect we will have 200 people there.
So, this is the end of this blog entry. I don't even know how to spell check it. I have no idea how my images will post. This is a test.
Talk to you all soon. Bob P.
