Seasons greetings folks.  A Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to one and all.

Chris and I would like to wish you all good health and fortune for the coming year and may all your travels be safe and trouble free.

And a thought for our armed forces where ever they are, may god bless them and keep them safe.

 TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A YOUNG BRAVE SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT

 

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."

 

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."

This poem was written by a Marine stationed in Okinawa Japan. The
following is his request. I think it is reasonable.....

PLEASE. Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities.



Welds apart

Took another trip to Alexander Boats to see how AmyJo is coming along.  Jim was in the middle of discussing another build with other clients so I held back until he finished.  

When you look at AmyJo you could be forgiven for thinking not much has been done but you would be wrong.

Um looks like metal spiders have taken up residence

Most noticeable was the stern sides had been wrapped and welded to the counter base plate and the engine bed had been installed.  The metal spider's web above are temporary braces to keep the shape until supports are complete

The starboard stern plate

Another rubbing band had also been tack welded into place and Craig was busy welding that up completely

Jim points out the welding that was taking place

The engine bed and, the water cooling tank, are now done

I understand the principal of welding but for me its welds worlds apart (excuse the pun) from what I do with computers so Jim explained how the process works.   I think I got this right.

The welding set is earthed or connected with a cable to the hull and a high voltage electric current is passed through the welding rod.  When the rod is moved close enough to the metal an arc jumps across from rod to hull completing a circuit melting the flux and welding rod at its tip.  The extreme heat generated from this melts the steel in the mediate vicinity in to a molten goo that fuses as the weld cools.  The flux stops oxidisation occurring during the weld.  This stops a coke build up weakening the joint.  The flux dries to a coke like crust which is then scraped or tapped away leaving a clean metal joint underneath.

Having watched through a welding mask to see the process up close I was fascinated to see the weld take shape.

As there was not a lot more to see I took some video and said my goodbyes.  We may get one more visit in before Christmas and Jim hopes to have completed the stern and made a start on the bows by then.  Anyway here is the video I took for interest.

The hissing and crackling you can hear is not a fault with the video, it's Craig welding the rubbing band on the port side at the stern and the fussy bright cloud at the end is actually  smoke from the weld.

Frozen Sheets

Went down to the Sailing club to check "Heavens Ent" our Enterprise dinghy was OK and to remove ice from her.  Chris being Chris decided to have fun making weird shapes with our jib sheets as they were frozen due to being wet. 

Little things.....

A Lovely Surprise for Chris

Chris had a lovely surprise this evening.  Mary, Chris's mum has made good progress over the last few weeks and has now been discharged from hospital and is in a nursing home pending assessment for a care home.

Chris rang the home to see how Mary was doing and was asked to ring back in 10 minutes. When she rang back she was pleasantly shocked to hear her mum speaking to her.  The nurses had brought Mary to the phone so she could speak to Chris and the pair of them had a good old chin wag for 20 minutes.  Chris's face was a picture as she chatted to mum and I could hear the Mary we used to know coming through now and then.

It is such a relief to know Mary is making good progress and that she is happy in the home.   I think this is a big weight lifted off Chris's mind.  It means that now, not only can Chris see her mum when ever she can get back to Essex,  she can also speak to her more regularly on the phone, an option not available whilst she was in hospital.

Here we go AmyJo

Chris and I paid another visit to Alexander boats today.  For Chris it was the first time she could actually see something real.  Like me on my last visit she was like a kid with a new toy.

We parked up and walked into Jim's shed and there was AmyJo.  We could not believe how much Jim had done in such sort time.

Does my bum look big in this?

Jim has the sides in place and all the ribs.  The swim was there and so was the stern floor.

Chris standing at the bows, thinks we're gonna
need an intercom system, or semaphore flags.

Jim was starting to put the last plates of the hull sides in place as we walked in and her hull was starting to resemble a boat.

AmyJo now looks even longer

We walked to the bow and found Jim had cut this to shape already to take the plates that will eventually make the Josher bow

Chris simply could not resist and wanted to walk inside to get a good feel for AmyJo.

No Chris its not going to be the Jacuzzi,  its the engine bay! Silly

Chris playing hop scotch with AmyJo's ribs

Chuffed to bits or what?

It getting difficult to fit all of AmyJo into the picture frame now

 After an hour looking over AmyJo and having a cuppa and a chat with Jim we headed home in the rain.  We'll leave Jim to it for now and we'll visit again in two weeks time as our friends Derek and Vicki are coming to stay next weekend.  Meantime Jim will continue to send us photographs of his progress to wet our appetites.

From flat plates to something resembling a hull

Since I last visited Alexander Boats Jim has been busy working on AmyJo.  Tonight I received some photos showing his progress and they blew me away.

Suddenly it dawned on me this really is happening and we cannot wait until Saturday when we are going to see AmyJo in the flesh as it were

The hull sides rolled and ready to be welded to the base plates

The ribs going in and the stern takes shape

All the ribs are in and the stern sides are fabricated

Bow or stern, only the stern tube gives a clue

At Last, AmyJo is born

A big day today and for us a major milestone.

I went to Alexander boats today and arrived just in time to see the steel arriving.  Jim was busy with the fork lift positioning one of the plates into place so I waited patiently not wanting to disturb him

And here she is.  The first two of AmyJo's three base plates.

The second plate is lowered into position

Each plate measures 8 meters by 2 meters

A few minutes later and the final third plates is positioned

Gently does it

Thats Jim in the distance

After the last plate was laid the full 67feet of AmyJo became apparent.  In the above photo I was standing taking the photo at what will be AmyJo's stern whilst Jim stood at her bows.  My thoughts were, my god she's long!  I'm not too worried I have handled a 68 foot boat whilst on holiday a few years back so am looking forward to seeing how AmyJo "swims" as the term for moving through the water is called.

The steel for the hull sides should be arriving on Wednesday and Jim has promised to mail me photos of his progress so I've started a Build page where I'll put them all.

And we're off, well we will be Saturday

Fantastic news, we just got word from Jim that he will be laying AmyJo's baseplate on Saturday.  Can't wait!

Apparently the Steel will be arriving on Friday so he can get started.  Not sure how much we'll see on Saturday but photos are to follow in the next post

At the starting Block

I realised today that Jim at Alexander Boats only had an email address to contact me by so I've emailed him our telephone number and rang him to tell him.  To be honest his email was knawing at me so much I could not resist.

Whilst on the telephone he informed me he would try an lay our baseplate on Saturday if he can get the steel inside.  He will email me on Friday to let me know if we are go on this or not.  This is great news for us as it means Chris will be able to be with me to see the event as she cannot get time off work at short notice.  I guess she will be please she can be there with me.

So now this week cannot go fast enough but then I should not wish my life away, still I bet it will be the longest week on record.

Email out of the blue

Yesterday I received an email from Jim simply stating the boat in his shed is being shipped out to Fernwoods on Wednesday, 7th November and was getting our steel immediately.

I've replied asking whether that means he is getting the steel on the same day or he means our base plate will be laid immediately.  If the former I've asked he let us know when the base plate will be laid.