I made great progress on the structure for the pirate ship, which will soon be bound for Vala’s Pumpkin Patch. The lower hull framework is now substantially complete, which means I can move on to the upper deck next week. Once that structure is blocked out, it will be carefully lifted down with the forklift and finished separately from the ship. It won’t go together again until the ship is assembled onsite next spring. Next week, I’ll also finish up the pencil rod armature and install the rest of the details, such as the captain’s door and the ship’s wheel. We hope that by the end of next week, we will be working on tying on the diamond lath in preparation for the hand-sculpted concrete skin. Stay tuned…