The sculpting of the last ship hull was done by such break and we decided to go for broke and do the keels in the afternoon. At quitting time we were putting the last touches to the sculpting of the head and tail keels, finishing off the sculpting for the Viking ships for Dubai. It's been a long haul, with the project going seven months from first design through to now. Only paint is left to do which the crew will begin on the first half of the Viking ship tomorrow. In a little over two weeks we'll be loading them for their long journey to the Middle East.
Almost a ship
After seven months of thinking about Viking ships it finally seems like this project is going to wrap. Today we began applying the concrete and sculpting the last half of the final ship. The weather was perfect, warm and cloudy with little wind. As always it was a team effort to mix the special concrete, trowel it onto the frame and then sculpt in the detail. We managed to finish the inside of the ship and get a good start on the outside of the hull. It is our hope to finish sculpting this last large piece tomorrow leaving only the two keel pieces for Friday. Then we will do the paint to finish them off.
Flying Viking ship parts
The impressive challenge of the day was to set up and load six containers with the many pieces of the first Viking ship and various other features. The first container truck arrived at eight this morning and the giant crane a few minutes later. While some of the crew helped set things up the rest of them pulled the soft top and bows off the first container and backed the truck into position near the crane. It is always a bit nerve wracking and yet very exciting to see our giant (and very heavy) features get hooked up and fly through the air. The crane operator was cautious and skillful and did his job smoothly - my favourite kind of operator. As we loaded the first piece the crew opened up the next container in readiness. Each piece went into the containers perfectly and as soon as they were loaded the trucks were pulled out of the way to make room for the next truck and container. The crew would then put the bows back in place and stretch the giant tarp back on the top then jump to a waiting truck to remove it's canvas top. We averaged a load every one hour and ten minutes - an outstanding performance by the entire crew! All of the pieces went in without even a scratch and everyone kept safe and sound. It doesn't get better than that! THANKS!
