A cabin begins?

Getting out to work on the property has been, well, a struggle. But I got out enough to start on what we will call a foundation for now. With no ferry, (a whole nother post right there) getting the materials across the bay to do this right has been nigh on impossible. So, I am exploring alternative building methods.

One thought was to go ahead and try building with just logs. Ever try to move a tree with a fourwheeler? Decided not to go that way.

A few days of head scratching, and looking at houses to buy (right), a chance conversation resulted in a Plan. I had been called to look at a broken dump truck by a neighbor (kinda), but he had fixed it by the time I got a hold of him. We got to talking and he offered to cut me lumber for the cabin on his sawmill. Lumber Baby! No stacking up trees I can't even move! Yeah!

So, we are going to put up a very simple 16x24 cabin with 12/12 pitch roof and a loft. It will be built on logs laid on the pad. I know I will be revisiting the foundation in 5-10 years as a result, but need it up NOW.

Also started working on the out-house, kinda important if we are going to out there working, ya know?

Here is the site as of today:

The way in!

This last week we worked on a way to get into the cabin without tearing up the swamp any further. It was getting a little soft from more than a few trips in and out over the last year with fourwheelers and the buggy.

 My Son Travis showing off the hard work on a boardwalk over the swamp, and our beater Honda 4wheeler.

This our other helper. A $500 Kubota 4x4 tractor I found in Cordova. This picture is Christmas Day 2012, and that lump of snow behind it is my Wifes' Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Finally, some progress!

Wow, almost three years since the last post. We are starting on our Cabin in earnest this summer (if it ever gets here). We got started this winter with some help from Hopkins Bros. Construction. They brought some equipment in and cleared the cabin site of stumps, leveled a pad, and hauled in a travel trailer to the site.

This is the Site before we went to work on it. You can see that we have to go across the Muskeg to get there. That is my buggy in front of where the cabin will be.

This is February. We built a snow road in with a D-5 Cat.

 A little equipment time goes a long way...

 Like magic, starting to look like somewhere we could live.

Todays Sidetrack: the Ship I work on in Cordova, AK. The M/V Chenega. 19,000hp Fast catamaran car ferry.

These are four 10kw Lister generators I picked up in Ketchikan. One will end up being the powerplant for our homestead. They were old Alascom units.

How time flies...

Well, Hi there!

It's been a while since I last posted, and a lot has changed. I finally got work, as my bid to get on the State Ferry system came through. I went from no work to all work though for the summer. Between June and mid September I spent exactly ten days at home.

Spending a month at a time on a ship, going back and forth from port to port, was quite an experience. As luck would have it, weather was great both trips out the Aleutians and the many cross-gulf trips we made. I worked as a Steward this summer, Serving meals to passengers and crew, cleaning staterooms, and washing dishes. All in all, a rewarding summer, but not much time at home to get things done or to spend with family.

Alas, I am off work for the winter though. Ferry work is seasonal for the first couple years, until I have enough seniority points to stay on for the winter.

Fun with buggy

 

Well, today was fun.

My Buggy, or Tractor, was looking a little forlorn in the front yard. It was encased in snow and ice, and hadn't been run since around Christmas. I figured a nice clear day was just the time to take out for a ride.

Umm....Clear and cold that is. It was about 18 degrees, which is not too bad, but it took a half-hour to get it started. The throttle cable and carb both had frozen in the idle position, and just getting all that thawed had my fingers frozen. Finally I got it running and warmed up to where the glass was clearing.

Our beautiful daughter Kyla was practically in the cab allready, wanting to go for a ride. We hopped in and ran up the unplowed road beyond our house. At the top of the hill was another loop that we had not been down, so we went a bit more. the loop ended with a big snow berm. I was pretty sure we would get high-centered on the berm, so I thought I would go around. All I can say is crusty snow can get you in a moment, and I was stuck.

Now, you would think I would have a shovel, or a winch. Nope. How about a cellphone? Nope. Just a warm-up run, why would I need those? We didn't really enjoy the walk home. A bit cold with the breeze off the bay. When we got home it was Momma and her Jeep to the rescue, with only a little joking about Dad getting the big buggy stuck.

Good Times...

Needless Death of a boat...

I wish I had a camera with me today, as I witnessed the destruction of a Sailboat hull by the city hands. It was a 29-30 or so foot sailboat (with no rigging) that was apparently left in the harbor and was in danger of sinking.

The city pulled it out and was destroying it with a backhoe.

I have been looking for a Sailboat hull to use as a slow cruiser to Homer and back. Unfortunately, no opportunity existed to salvage this boat. I am very sad...

The city could have sold it for the back-due slip fees and had someone pay to haul it out. Instead, they will now eat the slip fees, haul it out for nothing, and pay city employees to destroy it and take it to the dump, where it will be fill or be burned. Poor call guys!

on waiting...

One would think that I would be really good at waiting by now.

I once heard a saying:
You can have anything you want, but you have to choose from two of these three: Fast, Good, and Cheap.
Fast and Cheap is no good, Fast and Good is never cheap, so I go for Good and Cheap. I wait...

This last year has been an exercise in waiting for me. When we choose to move, I waited weeks to move. Then I waited six weeks on the beach for fishing. I waited two more weeks for a ferry that wasn't full. I waited on money for materials to build with. I waited on employers to call me back. I waited for Santa, and the New Year, and for my dial-up internet to finally load a page.

Now I wait for Spring. Today it is raining, teasing me in January, trying to make me think Winter is over. I won't be fooled though, and I will wait for the real spring to come. With it will come either a Job or a shop opening, or both. I need something to keep me busy and to make a living.  Cabin Fever is here, and I can't wait for it to leave.