Progress Update: April 21st

Moving day is scheduled for the weekend of May 7th-8th! We have sold our small sailboat home and are tying up loose ends. We will be renting the truck for about 5 days which will give us plenty of time to load the truck and drive the 13 hour road trip. We will then transfer about 1/2 of the load to a new storage unit when upon arrival and put the other half onto the ship for sorting. After Eric rests, he will then fly back to Sanford to bring up the truck and small trailer. If we find a driver, we will take both vehicles in one shot. 

Eric has given two week notice at his job and will be doing a few small projects as we get ready for our move. Being aboard full-time will speed up the repair/renovation project. We will still need to spend some time in a ship yard before our departure. For the time being, the boat is staying in its current slip in Louisiana. 

We want to say a big thank you to Glen Knight and Remote Island Ministries! They donated a Loud Hailer needed by the ship. This allows us to meet international regulations for bell and signal requirements. Also will provide some intercom capabilities within the ship if we get the remotes.

Progress Update: April 8th

Early March saw a long week of hard work. We combined the three storage units into one and as much as possible was put into small storage bins, cataloged and stacked efficiently. This will make loading the moving truck much easier when moving day arrives. Still no definite date but hopefully soon. All that is needed is to find a buyer for our 30ft sailboat then Eric will give two weeks notice at his job. 

Special thanks to DJ and Mary Williams whose help was very much needed and appreciated! 

  A lot of work in progress with Penny supervising!

 

Once we make the permanent move, we will unload some of the bins onto the ship immediately while the rest will go into another storage unit near the ship. We will then slowly make trips back and forth as room is made aboard to store into lockers or use in refurbishing.

DJ returned to the ship after we finished with the storage units and continued working on the hydraulics. 

During the first week of April, DJ's cousin Amber joined him on board for 6 days and together they knocked out the last of the deep cleaning of the forward and aft crew cabins. Eric will sand, paint and install the overhead in both cabins. 

*Special big thanks to Amber for all her hard work!

Amber and DJ hard at work!

This is what the cabins looked like when DJ and Mary began the tear-out 1 year ago. What a difference!