Ice Breaker! Otherwise known as the bulbous nose which is attached to the front of the bow module has come together as work continues towards completion. Work also continues on the opposite side, the stern. PilotHouse being readied for the… Continue Reading →
Nik is the lead fitter in The Big House. The Big House is the fabrication shop at Dakota Creek Shipyard in Anacortes, where America’s Finest is being built. Think of the ship as a Lego set. A large part of… Continue Reading →
Look. This shackle is huge. That’s what it’s called, a shackle. A U-shaped piece of steel with a bolt that screws through the open end. See how big it is? Big enough to dwarf the hands of the men working it…. Continue Reading →
These are torches. Oxy-fuel torches, to be precise. Propane is one fuel, but the hotter and more common fuel is acetylene. That makes these oxy-acetylene torches. They burn a mixture of acetylene and oxygen at 6,300 degrees F. Some torches… Continue Reading →
In the shipyard, these tools are improvisations. They’re “binders,” as in “load binders.” They come with hooks on the ends and are used to tighten down chains when securing cargo or equipment for shipping. Or, maybe you’ve seen them on… Continue Reading →
Each trade has its tools. These tools are for working steel. They are small and quiet tools, but they will shape ships. They will set angles and square corners, aligning the forces of the universe in patterns that will defy… Continue Reading →
When a friend put me in touch with Harry, who wanted a writer for this book project, I had only a mild idea of what Harry was trying to accomplish. Now, several conversations later, I think we’re embarking on a… Continue Reading →
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