Mission Accomplished

All trusses were placed by 2:00. Next steps include supporting the trusses in preparation for the steel roofing material.

Truss raising day

Unfortunatly you can't see them , but the amazing flying Wirkki brothers are in the trusses supporting the first sections. As the day went on, the crew were setting trusses every 7 minutes. Not bad for a crew with a few amateurs. A picture perfect day.

Nothing Beats Bronze

Cleats, goose-necks, winches, lights, shackles, mast and boom hardware, winch handles.
A few of these items were on display in Howdy's
workshop for many years.


All the winches have been disassembled and re-greased. All in excellent shape.

Famous Howdy Bailey!

Google his name and you find large yachts for sale that he's built. You also may find a link to the Chesapeake Bay Schooner race. This picture shows Howdy on his classic schooner. He helped out out with a few hardware contributions . Howdy's extensive yacht building knowledge is only surpassed by his hospitality and friendly nature. Thank you Howdy and crew!

The Spray gets a rig!

Jim and Tauno traveled to Norfolk Virginia to purchase a rig from a 36 ft wooden boat determined to no longer be seaworthy. The famous Howdy Bailey, a yacht builder in Norfolk, had recently completed these douglas fir masts for the disappointed boat owner. We purchased masts, booms, bronze hardware, stainless wire, sails etc. Modifications will be made to accommodate the larger Spray.

20 feet long, 5007 LBS

Howard has finished casting all sections and has "roughly" lined them up for this photo. He's carefully machined each section so that when snugged together with a winch, they're perfectly aligned by the laser line. Sections weigh 275-580 LBS ea.

Working alone, Howard has set up a unique system of winches, block and tackles, and roller systems to move large blocks around his shop. He's currently devising a system to to lift blocks into position under the keel.

Keel bolt drilling

Howard is done casting 11 keel sections designed to attach to the bottom of the keel. Here he's drilling bolt holes in each section while also creating a hole pattern that will transfer bolt locations to the keel. The pattern will be nailed to the keel when drilling up through the keel. ( thats the plan and we'll let you know how it goes.)

Spray Shares a pasture

Tauno's alpaca herd share a pasture with the spray, occasionally approaching us looking for handouts or just being curious.

Pole Barn Building 101

When we had her moved, we stuffed her full of lumber so we haven't been able to get inside since the move from Sherman CT. We covered her up for the winter and began the pole barn building task. We raised all of the poles and waited for more material to be delivered to the site. The holidays and the abundant snowfall has put us into a holding pattern.

Safely on the slab

We reassembled her custom cradle and covered her up. Over the next few weeks we were busy going through the Bruce Roberts plans while trying to enjoy the last weeks of our sailing season on Lake Champlain.

Home in Shushon

Home at last in the alpaca pasture. ( I've referenced alpacas twice now without showing a picture of them-I'll remedy that in the future)

We just made it between two trees at the gate.

Time to blow the bat guano off the deck!

After a few final words with the local reporter ( in red) the group started to break up, as the Spray sailed away from its berth. Due to the wide beam ( over 8 ft) it required escorts front and rear. I thought it rather fitting for such a fine craft that she be escorted to her new home. ( thats called putting a positive spin on an additional expense)

Last family goodbyes

Joseph's children say their last goodbyes. Joseph was a master carpenter that had a dream to build this Slocum Spray and sail it around the world with his wife. Like so many other passionate boat builders life got in the way of completing the project. When his wife died a few years ago, so did the dream. Joseph started the project around 1975. As you will see in future posts, his accomplishment in this nearly completed hull is nothing short of amazing.

The beginning of our journey

When we started this process we knew it would be an adventure. As I bid on this e-bay item back in August, the concept of completing this project excited and terrified me at the same time. Here you see the group of great people that made this deal happen. left to right, Hank , Gina, (Ebay Seller) , Me, my partners Tauno and Uwe, Jim ( property owner). Thanks to everyone.

Service honoring the Spray builder, Joseph Rhodes

Read by Joseph Rhodes' grandson.

" A Sailor's Blessing"

Through storms and squalls and tumultuous seas

May you be moored in the harbor of God's loving arms

And may your winds be swift and your sails be full

Across the ocean that is life

So when you reach that distant shore

You may look back on your voyage there

And see that you've lived a life of adventure,

That you've lived a life of love,

That you've lived a life that was full of life-

With no regrets.

The extraction

During a boat move the guy driving the truck is king. He did a great job without incident. Our team was already (left) starting to get ready to put the barn back together. ( I was shmoozing with the reporter )