The shop has been very full of large pieces since the the building of the ship began. Since we needed to lift assemblies into place as we fabricated them the ship needed to be built under the lift beam which is in front of the giant door. This meant we have not been able to move any finished pieces until the ship structure is complete. Tomorrow that will happen and the structural engineer will arrive to inspect it. Then we can disassemble the ship and move it out of the shop. All the other large complete pieces will quickly follow. Then the shop will get a sweep from end to end before we move the ship and some smaller pieces back in for further finish work. At that stage we will be able to walk in a straight line through the shop once more without winding our way between the pieces. Tomorrow is moving day!
Four wheeling fun
Our grandkids, Juniper and little brother Henry visit our place often. Henry is still too little to play out in the yard much but he's growing up fast. They definitely need a wagon for me to pull them around in and ordinary wouldn't do. I scrounged through our boneyard and came up with four wheels and some springs from an old golf cart. I could make the rest. Today I finished the basic frame of the little four wheeler buggy. It will be a little jacked up hot rod. That way I don't have to bend over to push the kids as they ride the wagon. That will make it a whole lot easier on my back. :)
Ship structure almost complete
The frame for the ship of the North Star suite of the is well under way. The giant, welded structural frame certainly dominates the shop and is much too large to go out of the door in one piece. There are three sections that will unbolt to get the ship out of the shop. Each has to be fabricated in such a way to ensure there is no water penetration of the building enclosure. They will be fastened together again when we do the final assembly. Peter is now in the process of welding up the roof that goes over the windows of the bedroom. There are countless angles to be calculated and measured as we go. Each of the hundreds of pieces we cut needs to fit perfectly so it can be securely welded to the assembly. This is the undoubtably the most complex feature of the entire Hazelnut Inn. It is looking pretty spectacular already. In six or seven weeks it will be time to lift the ship into position on the front tower of the inn. We are very excited and counting the days...!
