Journey’s Maiden Voyage
I can’t believe that my last post was August 1, 2014… So much has happened and transpired since then! But, Sunday October 16th, 2022 Journey finally launched! What a journey this has been.
Journey’s Maiden Voyage…
Sunday, October 16th 2022 was a momentous day in the Higdon Family. It all started 9 years ago… Shortly after my sister died… One lazy summer afternoon I was day dreaming about building a wooden kayak when quite by accident, I stumbled upon a website called “Chesapeake Light Craft” and there she was… she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and I fell immediately in love. She was sleek and fast with beautiful lines. All I could think of, was the line from one of my favorite movies, “Summer Rental,” “She’ll make ya rich, or she’ll feed ya to the fishes. If she wants you to dance, sonny boy, you’ve got to follow her lead.” Yes, I had fallen in love with a sailboat called “Pocketship.”
“This is crazy,” I thought. “What do I know about building a sailboat, or any other kind of boat for that matter?” There was also another slight problem… I have no idea how to sail! I had only sailed once before in my life with my brother up on Lake Michigan… It was a perfect day with perfect weather on a, gorgeous, 31 foot sailboat. “Oh well…” I thought, I have plenty of time to learn to sail. According to the building manual, it would take about 500 hours to build, and working a few nights per week and weekends it could easily be accomplished in about one year. (Famous last words)
So, on November 5th 2013, my son, Ben, and I traveled to Annapolis MD to pick up a pallet of Marine grade plywood, various varieties of hardwood boards, several gallons of epoxy, a set of plans and a massive roll of fiberglass that all somehow managed to fit into the back of my pickup truck. Construction began as soon as I got back home.
Unfortunately, I discovered that Indiana winters in an unheated garage are not very conducive to the hardening of epoxy (an integral part of the building process of a “Pocketship.”) Then, the next year, I discovered that Indiana summers are not very conducive to an old fat boy working out in the heat of an un air-conditioned garage. One year flowed into two years and the progress felt incredibly slow. Everything seemed to take 5 times longer than I thought it should. I had to laugh at the “500 hours to build” suggestion in the builder’s manual because I spent at least that long looking for a pencil and more time than that scratching my head, trying to figure out how to do the next step… You may not know this, but I had a full head of hair before I started construction.
Then, life challenges also began to interfere with the building process… health issues, hospitals, doctors and a move to northern Indiana just to name a few. When I started building I had two grandchildren and now I have four with the youngest in kindergarten and the oldest now enrolled as a freshman in College.
But, year by year, she slowly started to look like a boat. At one point we had a big party at the house where I invited a bunch of guys… They thought I was inviting them over for a cookout, but I really needed them to help me turn the boat upside down so that I could finish the bottom. Then the next year I invited them all again to turn her back over, right side up… I hope that I never see her upside down again!!! With the fresh paint on her hull, she was really starting to look like I had imagined.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, I received a call that the Bishop had a new appointment for me up here in Northern Indiana, I panicked! I had to get her ready to travel, I had to make sure that she was water tight to protect from the rain, I had to find a trailer to put her on… Oh my goodness… How do I possibly get her up on the trailer, assuming that I can even find one??? It was a mad scramble, Karen did most of the packing up of the house while I worked out in the garage. Finally the big day arrived, one week before moving day. A dear friend had given me a boat trailer that had been out in his field for 25 years. He put new wheels and new tires on it for me and made sure that it was road worthy. Another friend and his son configured the trailer to accommodate the boat and put new lights on so that it would be legal, and after another call to a loyal group of guys who had never failed me… it was time for “Journey” to be born and leave the friendly confines of the garage where she had spent her whole life to that point.
I had to laugh… While I was still trying to figure out exactly how we were going to move the boat out of the garage and onto the trailer… A couple of guys had grabbed straps, a couple of others began to lift and before I could say a word, she was up, out of the garage and seated proudly on her trailer, shinning gloriously in the sun. It was a proud day. Later that afternoon, she survived her first road test and a major thunder storm… she was dry as a bone inside.
Time continued to pass… the next 3 years went by in a heartbeat. In that time, I managed to almost die from Covid, I had 2 kidney stones, cataracts in both eyes and all while learning to serve a new church. “You don’t suppose that it’s going to be another year do you?” I asked Karen. As always, she was encouraging and said that she thought there was still time left to get her in the water this year. So with that reassurance, I spent as much time as I could over the past month working on the boat. The manual was 287 pages long and I was down to just 12 pages to go. Then I was down to 23 steps left, then 10, then back up to 30 as I remembered little details like fire extinguishers, life jackets, and throw able life preservers (seat cushions.)
Finally the date was set, Sunday October 16th… The weather looked good, the boat was ready, and I was as ready as I was ever going to be. After countless hours and a great deal of blood, sweat and tears… the day was finally here. The trip down to Lake Monroe went perfect, no issues at all. Once there, I undid all the straps, untangled the spaghetti mess of lines and raised her mast. She was ready to go. Me, on the other hand, had a thousand questions… What’s going to happen? Will she float the right way up? Will she float off the trailer at all? Will she leak? Will everything work as planned? Will I ever be able to get her back on the trailer again???
I told my son that success would be judged on 4 criteria… Are we able to get her off the trailer and floating upright… Does the motor start and propel us across the lake… Does the boat keep the lake water out sufficiently that we don’t sink, and finally are we able to get the boat back on the trailer when we are finished.
With all of that in mind we gathered at the boat ramp parking lot and after a brief Christening Ceremony, and appropriate toasts with Sprite (my drink of choice)… and with the words “I Christen thee Journey” We were ready to back down the boat ramp and trust her to the sea… uhhh the lake.
The launch went flawlessly, she went skimming across the lake just as I had imagined she would a thousand times in my dreams. We dropped off passengers and took on more and back across the lake she went. Everything was perfect. I smiled at Karen and said… “You know how much you love to sit on the shore and look at the boats… Now someone else is sitting on shore watching us!”
The only challenge was putting her back on the trailer. It didn’t go well, and we will be purchasing my son Ben a new pair of shoes… But once we figured out what was going wrong, and with some masterful driving skills by my daughter in law Crystal, we were finally able to get her back on the trailer and up to the parking lot.
If I had to do it all over again, would I? I don’t know. I could have bought 3 used sailboats for what Journey cost and could have been sailing 9 years ago… But love is a strange thing. Logic and love don’t necessarily go hand in hand. I loved that little boat the first time I saw her in a picture, and now, each time I walk by her, she still takes my breath away. But you have to work at love and it takes a lot to make a relationships work. “She’ll make ya rich, or she’ll feed ya to the fishes. If she wants you to dance, sonny boy, you’ve got to follow her lead.” All I can say is that I look forward to following “Journey’s” lead for many years to come.
Blessings,
Jim
Lead Pour and Centerboard Progress
It has been a few weeks since I last brought you up to date on Journey’s progress. This has actually been a productive past few weeks. I sanded the keel and routed out the front edges of the centerboard trunk since they will be visible inside the cabin. Then I routed the bottom of the keel to reduce drag in the water.
After a final sanding, the keel was ready for the lead to be melted and poured into the forward and aft compartments.
Here is a picture of the keel all ready for the lead pour.
The lead came from tire weights secured from a local tire company. I used a turkey fryer that has been in my garage forever, a cast iron frying pan purchased from a yard sale, a spatula borrowed from my wife (Do you think she will notice if I cleaned it up really good and put it back?) Yeah, that’s what I thought too. Hey, at least now I know what to get her for her birthday!
I also used heavy leather gloves, long sleeves, long pants, eye protection and my cartridge respirator.
So with all of that, one would think that nothing could possible go wrong…. Well, one would be wrong! LOL
It’s a little hard to see, but on the first pour, I figured out very quickly that heavy leather gloves does not a hot pad make. So I burned my finger, and spilled a bit of the precious lead all over the place.
The good news is that, my finger is healing nicely and didn’t delay the rest of the pour and it’s amazing how easily you can just scape up the spilled lead and re-melt it. However, before I melted the second pouring, I went back to my wife’s kitchen where the spatula came from and borrowed one of her pot holders, which worked just great… right up to the point… that it caught on fire. I guess I can add a pot holder to her birthday list 🙂
Here is a picture of the finished bow section
The aft section all finished!
A picture of a 2014 penny (for luck) all ready to seal up inside the keel forever!
Keel all sealed up ready for the keelson.
I also glued the two halves of the centerboard together.
.
Here is a picture of the 3/8″ wide and 3/4″ deep rabbit cut into the centerboard. I used a dado blade on my table saw which turned out very nicely. I decided to cut the dado before pouring the lead into the centerboard because I figured it would be much easier to handle on the table saw (which it was) The groove is there to pour large quantities of epoxy into. This will provide a great deal of protection for the exposed centerboard.
Here is a picture of the keelson epoxied together laying next to the keel.
Soooo I just keep taking things one step at a time. Next step is to build the craddle for the keel and see if I can start making Journey look like a boat.
Keel Assembly
Can you believe it? I finally got back to working on “Journey!” I have to admit that the idea of assembling the keel has been weighing on me. I have read many of the other blogs where mistakes have been made during assembly and too much blocking was used or not enough and the keel ended up a bit crooked or there were large gaps in the joints. So, with all of that in mind, and after trial fitting everything together several times, I took a deep breath, mixed up a batch of epoxy and started assembling.
It actually went together predictably and just as I had practiced. One thing that I did a little differently than the manual recommended was that I epoxied the port – aft keel side last. It just seemed that as I practiced assembly, that there was more room for error epoxying the aft section last instead of earlier as the manual recommended. It seemed to work well.
I also discovered that I prefer using a squeegee over a foam roller or brush when applying epoxy. The epoxy seemed to go on easier, and quicker, and there didn’t appear to be as much waste. Of course, I am still pretty new to all of this and I might find that my opinions will change over time and with experience.
Anyway, the good news is that I am back on track! A little sanding… a little routing… and then I get to smelt lead! That actually sounds like fun… of course with all of the meth labs around here, I expect to receive a visit from our local law enforcement, after a concerned neighbor looks out and wonders what’s going on in my back yard.
I can see the headlines now… “Local Pastor Arrested for… well… we don’t know what he was doing… but it looked illegal!” LOL
I’ll keep you posted!
Blessings
It Won’t Float!
As you might be able to tell from the long time between blog posts, my work on “Journey” came to a sudden halt around the first of April.
When we first found out that our daughter and her husband were expecting a baby, my wife told her that we would buy the crib for our new grandson. “BUY a crib?” I said! “Why, I will do you one better! I will BUILD a crib for that new grandson of mine!” So, with that great pronouncement, my boat factory (garage) turned abruptly into a crib factory. The only problem was that I knew as much about building a crib as I did about building a sail boat.
I have always heard that the difficulty of a shop project can often be measured by how many trips to the hardware store it took you to complete it….. Well, if that is the measure then I am really worried about how many trips “Journey” is going to take. I stopped counting trips to the hardware store somewhere in early May and I was already passed 15. And, when I started adding up the dollar signs….. Well, I quite counting around $600.00. (Yes I know that you can buy really nice new cribs for $250.00.) But those cribs weren’t built with love by Grandpa!!! (that’s what I keep telling myself) 🙂
So now the crib is finally done… Did I mention that my daughter is in labor as I write this? I really am a procrastinator. I once mentioned to a friend that I work best when I am under pressure… He looked at me… shook his head and said… “Jim, you ONLY work when you are under pressure!” (Perhaps he was right!)
But… did I tell you that the crib is actually a 3 in 1 bed? It will also convert into a toddler bed and then ultimately into a full sized bed. (I really am an overachiever, aren’t I)
I don’t have much to finish on the other two parts so if all goes well, within the week, it’s back to boat building!
(“Journey” says… Yea right) ……. She can be so jealous and definitely temperamental!
Blood, Sweat and Progress
I am beginning to wonder if I am on pace to be the longest Pocketship build of all time. Oh well, time will tell.
I was able to make a little progress in spite of the “Never Ending Winter”
I was able to finish the “Centerboard Trunk!” As the manual says… “Congratulations, you have made a box! It won’t float yet.”
It actually turned out very nice. So far so good.
I also finished shaping the noseblock for “Journey.” Again, quoting the manual… The noseblock “will plow through thousands of miles of dense water in Pocketship’s lifetime.” So with that thought in mind, I took my time and tried to get it right.
I placed the noseblock on the kitchen table (along with my wife’s ceramic work) I’m afraid that she has me beat in the area of color and artistic flair, but I bet that my noseblock will do a better job of cutting through the water than her ladybugs! (No Karen, I’m not going to test your ladybugs out in the water!!)
I did have a slight mishap with the sander…
So I have shed blood on this project, I have certainly been sweating… even in the winter. No tears so far… (I’m sure it is only a matter of time) and I have made a little progress. I’m not slow… I’m just pacing myself 🙂
Blessings
A Lot Done… But Nothing Accomplished!
I just haven’t had much of a chance to get out in the garage and work on “Journey.” It isn’t that I haven’t wanted to, but life sure has had a way of getting my attention here lately.
Since my last post I spent a week in New York. While I certainly had a great time, I wasn’t exactly making headway on my Pocketship.
Then came the season of Advent and Christmas. Once again, while very rewarding, it wasn’t spending time out in the garage.
After Christmas, I spent a week with some of my favorite people in one of my favorite places in the world… Gatlinburg TN. No complaints or excuses there!
Then I spent a week in the hospital 😦 Unfortunately, I would have rather been anywhere else in the world than there.
And throughout these past several weeks, we have been inundated with the coldest weather that I can ever remember!
I was able to accomplish something on a couple of the days that it decided to stay above freezing… I built a rolling rack to hold all of the wood for “Journey.” At least now everything is organized, neat and up off the garage floor.
Here is a before and after picture.
Before…
After…
By the way… Here is an example of how not to cut a piece of plywood on your folding table 😦 Don’t tell my wife… it was her table!!
Now all I need is for the weather to cooperate and it’s back to work.
Blessings 🙂
Finally Getting Started Building
Well, I haven’t been exactly doing nothing, but it is amazing how life and ministry can affect my free time. Between funerals of dear friends and preparations for “Charge Conference” (our annual church meeting) I have been keeping pretty busy.
I have also been working on some of the building preparations in the garage. It isn’t going to be as easy as I thought to work on “Journey” and also get my wife’s car in the garage every night. I am afraid that depending on what I am doing, I may have to leave the car out once in a while. (don’t tell her, she might not notice if I play my cards right) 🙂
The first dilemma I needed to overcome was how to keep the garage a little warmer while I am out there working. I decided on this Optimus Quartz Tower Electric Space Heater from Lowes. So far I am not sure that it is making that much difference. The thermometer on the wall seems to inch up gradually when it is on, But to be honest, when you get an old fat boy like me working out in the garage, I seem to stay pretty warm without much difficulty.
Pocketship begins by constructing the keel and the first step is to build the trunk which will hold the centerboard.
So you begin by fiberglassing (spreading epoxy over fiberglass cloth) the inside of the trunk
Here is my first attempt ever at fiberglassing, Hopefully I will become a little more proficient as the project goes along. There is A LOT of fiberglassing to do. (It does make the wood look beautiful)
You might notice the contraption that I built to hold the lights. First of all, the lights aren’t there because I am almost blind and I need them to see what I am doing. (although there is some truth in that) They are there to warm the epoxy so that it will harden properly. I got the idea from the CLC (Chesapeake Light Craft) website on how to heat your work area and epoxy in cold weather.
I have the second coat on now and I plan to do the third before I go to bed tonight.
I’m on step one of…. well a gozillion!!!!! But at least I have officially started!
Blessings
Journey to Pick Up “Journey”
Now that I have returned from Annapolis with “Journey” tucked safely in the bed of my truck, I’m not sure whether I feel more excited or apprehensive about the build.
Let me back up here for a moment and start from the beginning. I just spent three awesome days with my son and I can’t remember the last time that we did that, so without anything else, that made the last three days perfect.
The 1500 mile round trip went flawlessly! My first concern was whether or not the kit would fit in the back of my Chevy Colorado, and if it did fit, would the weight put too much of a strain on the truck, especially going back over the mountains of West Virginia.
Well, I really need to practice what I preach, Matthew 6:34 says: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” In other words, I really need to stop worrying so much and just enjoy the journey!
So let me tell you about my experience at Chesapeake Light Craft… I have one word for those guys…WOW. I have never been treated so well and so courteously in my life. Their patience and knowledge with my incessant questions was second to none. As an example, I was looking at the Japanese saws and my son asked the question (of me) why would that saw be any better than the other saws I already have, I didn’t get the chance to answer, one of the guys stepped in and gave Ben (and me) a 3 minute explanation of what made that saw special. I immediately put the saw in the basket of accessories to take home with me. (That guy was good!!!)
I also got to see Pocketship (the original) in person. I remember having two thoughts as I came around the corner and saw her for the first time… the first was like falling in love all over again. She is even more beautiful in person than she was in the countless pictures and videos that I have seen. And the second thought was… Oh My Goodness, what I have I gotten myself into!!! She looked sooo much bigger in person and my fear factor of being able to complete the build went up exponentially. (I know… I need to refer back to the not worrying about tomorrow thing)
Another privilege that I had was the opportunity to personally meet John Harris. Let me say that he took time from his busy schedule to come out and meet with us, answer a ton of questions and then personally take us out to get a close up look at Pocketship. Not once did I feel rushed, and I just wanted to say a public thank-you to John for the kindness he extended to a couple of lubbers from the far off land of Indiana.
After leaving Chesapeake Light Craft, we took a brief tour of Annapolis, and then drove over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. (We certainly weren’t in Indiana anymore) The only disappointment we experienced was trying to eat at Hemingway’s Restaurant right on the Chesapeake bay. Unfortunately, they were closed Monday’s until Spring. What a bummer!
We said our goodbys to Maryland, and headed for home. Monday night we had our fist snow of the year (don’t I remember something about “when the gales of November came early?) I hope that isn’t an omen! (I know, I know don’t worry about tomorrow!!)
After dropping Ben off in Seymour, IN I came home, rested for awhile, unloaded the truck (which was quite an adventure) sorted through the kit and went to bed early. The journey really has begun!
To Everything There Is A Season…
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”
Well, the calender has now turned over to November, the leaves are continuing to fall and I am only one week from heading out to Annapolis to pick up “Journey.” I got an email last week that said CLC would be putting the kit together early this week and that she should be ready to pick up by Friday. So, my plan is to leave after church next Sunday, drive to Seymour, IN to pick up my son, Ben, put him behind the wheel and go east until we get to Chesapeake Bay. Hopefully that will put us in somewhere in the vicinity of Annapolis, Maryland. 🙂
The next time I post, I should be beginning the building process.
Blessings
Jim
Patiently Waiting…
Ok, so the truth is, that I’m not so patiently waiting. The last I heard from CLC (Chesapeake Light Craft) is that my Pocketship kit would be ready sometime around November 5th. Unfortunately, I think that I am worse than a kid waiting for Christmas.
I have (up to now) resisted the temptation to bug the folks at CLC to “check” on the status of my order. I have to admit that I do find myself periodically glancing at CLC’s shop cam, watching the activity and the new boats being born, wondering if someone nearby is picking up a piece of paper with my name on it, saying, “Oh here is the Pocketship order for that guy in Indiana, let’s get this done and out before he starts bugging us.” (I imagine that you are beginning to think that I have way too much time on my hands… exactly! That is why I can’t wait for Pocketship to arrive so that I can begin the build)
My time hasn’t been completely wasted. My garage is now ready for Pocketship’s arrival
l
You might notice the outline (approximate) of Pocketship on the floor. I wanted to be sure that I had enough room for the build. (perhaps that thought was a little late) I also wanted to show my wife that her car wouldn’t have to live outside all winter 🙂
I also have been working on my clamp collection. Everything I have read has pointed me in the direction that one can never have too many clamps. So hopefully this will be enough to get started 🙂
I check my emails everyday, anxiously awaiting the one from CLC telling me when “Journey” will be ready, Then, we will take a road trip to Annapolis and bring her home 🙂
Building Pocketship "Journey" 