A Peek at Fetal KKY 55-005

As excited as I was to see the first sonogram of our baby, I'm just as excited to see (and finally share) the first pictures of our boat-to-be.

When Tom B. was in Taiwan last month checking on his latest crop of boats-to-be, he kindly sent the pictures that follow.  Now I must admit, aside from the obvious pictures, I had no idea what I was looking at.  Who knew that looking at shower stalls and black and gray water tanks could generate such mania!  I pored over these pictures with enthusiasm formerly reserved for the latest J. Crew or Bloomingdales catalog!

These are both the master and guest shower stalls.  They transform into sparkling fiberglass shower stalls that are roomy, have a great built-in seat and are so very easy to clean.  The shower itself has a state-of-the-art shower head that swivels to adjust the stream of water.  The body of the shower also swivels and converts to a hand-held sprayer for hard to reach areas.  The water pressure is strong enough to rinse every soap bubble out of my mop of curls!

This is a picture of the gray and black water tanks.  For those of you who like me, never heard of gray water, it is the waste water (like water from the shower), that is anything other than waste from the heads.

Tom also sent 3 exciting pictures of the hull and house.  You can look forward and actually see the shape of the hull!

Alongside the hull, you can see a set of steps...

More pictures of the boat's innards...

Instead of cutting corners by placing the stringers further apart to conserve materials, KKY places them so as to provide maximum strength and support to the boat's core.

You can see what the house looks like in all her "undressed" glory...

According to Tom, while he was at the yard, this is what was happening to KKY 55-005:

"All three large pieces, your hull, house section and boat deck are all laminated. They were
installing the core material into the hull and getting ready to vacuum bag
it in. Stringers were prepared and ready for installation along with the
bulkheads which will go in next into the hull. On the house section they had
just started installing the core material. Also shown are your shower stalls
and black and gray water tanks. All the pieces are starting to come
together."

The last sentence sent our hearts racing!  Our boat-to-be is taking shape and becoming more real each day.  She is due to be released from the mold around September 20th.  That will be a day to celebrate the completion of phase one.  If phase one is nearly done, can phase two be far behind?????

Stay tuned for more news.  Our second set of joinery drawings and some granite samples are due this weekend.  Up for this week's discussion:
granite, names, color/fabric for the settees

Luckily we have the gift of time (how rare).  So while these items do not yet require a decision, we're having fun with the discussions

Be back soon.

Boat Trip w/ Betty and Kate aboard LiLi, August 22 - 26

So here is the fantastic trip I teased you with - not once, but twice!  LOL

Betty and I discussed the possibility of me cruising with her for a long weekend way back in May.   True to the trawler lifestyle, Betty wasn't quite sure when this long weekend would occur, she was just sure that it would happen.  Not one to pass up a fantastic opportunity, I tried to keep my August weekends open as best I could.

I knew I would be visiting my sister in Wake Forest, NC August 7-12, so I hoped Betty wouldn't pick that weekend.  As luck would have it, Betty called to make the long-awaited announcement that she would be "headed my way" at the end of August, probably around the 22nd or so.  I casually cleared my calendar (leaving some disappointed folks in my wake) and prepared for the big weekend.

The plan was to pick me up in Port Jefferson harbor on Thursday, August 22nd.  For those of you not familiar with Long Island's geography, Port Jefferson is a scenic harbor town on the north shore of Long Island, about 45 minutes east of Huntington.  The plan became a bit snarled when I realized I had a nurses' open house booked that day - in Brooklyn no less!  No problem, I would host the open house and somehow get to Port Jefferson later in the day.

To make this happen, I had to involve several people along the way.  First, my husband had to adjust his workday so he could drive me to my office in Hicksville.  Next, I had to coerce a co-worker to drive us into Brooklyn since I wouldn't have a car.  Next came cozying up to yet another co-worker who lives pretty close to Port Jefferson to ask for a ride to the boat.  All set to go, but just one more call to the launch operator since Betty was on a mooring in Port Jeff harbor.  Luckily, the launch ran until 10 pm - good thing, since I didn't arrive until 8!  We became fast friends over the phone and he promised to be there within 10 minutes of me letting him know I was on the dock.  True to his word, he picked me and my bags up (one bursting with wine and snacks) and off we went to Betty's boat.  A short trip and $5 later, he promised to be there to take us to breakfast the next day.

I jumped on Betty's boat and the party began after much hugging and squealing.  After an introduction to her friend Kate, we were ready for dinner and LOTS of conversation.  In fact, we didn't stop talking until Betty dropped me off in Huntington 4 days later!

The next day we took the launch into town for a quick breakfast, then it was anchor up and on the way to Oyster Bay Harbor (the scene of several raft-ups when we had Serenity).  What I didn't expect was for Betty to relinquish the helm to me for the major part of our days on the boat!  Ecstasy to be sure!!!

 The trip from Pt. Jeff to Oyster Bay took about 4 heavenly hours, 2 hours of which I was at the helm.  In fact when we approached the anchorage, Betty handed over a headset and told me I would handle the boat while she dropped the anchor.  If you read my past blogs, you would know this is something the captain NEVER permitted.  I giggled to myself as I tried to picture his expression when I told him about this major accomplishment on my part.  Brave Betty!

Oyster Bay is an idyllic anchorage in a beautiful protected harbor.  It was a short dinghy ride into a quaint town with a convenient dinghy dock.  We popped in and out of cute shops - I was finding it hard to remember that I actually live about a half hour from this town.  We stopped for ice cream, then discovered a vintage-type shop with a sale in progress.  Show a woman a "Sale" sign and see what happens.  I wandered into the back yard where I found something amazing.  I called to Betty and Kate to come look.  What I found was 2 sequined tops, one in red and one in green - we were going to be the port and starboard girls. Clutching our treasure amid gales of laughter, we continued exploring the town until it was time to return to LiLi. We made great plans for those tops.

Since it was a Friday night, we were surprised to have only 3 other smaller boats for company.  The sunset was breathtaking...

The next morning, we were treated to a water skiing exposition by some sort of club.  Who else would be water skiing before 7 am on a Saturday morning?  Though the boats' engines disturbed our tranquility, the vista was still there for us to enjoy.  After a leisurely breakfast of yogurt and fruit, it was anchor up again and me at the helm navigating us out of the harbor on the way to points west - Port Washington.

The trip to Port Washington is a scenic one since for part of way, the Manhattan skyline and Throgs Neck are in full view.  My geography was a bit rusty.  When asked what bridge it was, I replied that it was the Verrazano.  Upon closer look out the window, we realized that there was no land between us and bridge.  Since the Verrazano Bridge lies between Brooklyn and Staten Island, I realized my error.  Luckily Betty let me stay at the helm, though I suspect she kept a closer eye on me after that faux pas.
Hard to be upset with this view...

... or this one...

This was some sort of race with helicopters overhead.  Those boats were moving - made us look like we were at a standstill.  Their wakes were awesome!

As you can see, the weather was perfect for boating of any type.  Unfortunately for us, there were MANY, MANY sailboats out.  In fact, we got caught in the middle of a regatta of small sailboats that were going in every direction.  More than once, I had to bring LiLi to a stop while we tried to figure out what those small sailboats were doing.  The captain would have passed out if he could see my maneuvers!

We found out that Port Washington offers free mooring balls for 2 nights plus launch service into town.  I learned how to approach a mooring ball and with the help of Betty and Kate, handled the boat to successfully pick up the ball.  After a quick lunch, we hailed the launch...

... and stoically made the 2 mile trek into town.  We were so disappointed.  This once vibrant town had fallen victim to the recession.  Many stores stood vacant.  Those that survived represented either nail shops or convenience stores.  We were delighted to find a market selling fresh seafood.  We tried to find one in Oyster Bay, but no luck.  Betty was looking for oysters we could roast on the grill and bathe in her famous butter, garlic and parmesan cheese sauce.  After hearing about this sauce, we became like hound dogs sniffing out a seafood market.  Once we found our precious oysters, we reversed our tracks and made our way back to the harbor.  The launch brought us back to LiLi and the feast began.  I can tell you that the garlic on those oysters could be smelled by every boat within a mile of us! What could end a perfect day better than a beautiful sunset enjoyed on the back porch of gorgeous LiLi?  All is well with the world.

Even though a second night would have been free, we had seen enough of this town.  We left the mooring ball and headed for Cold Spring Harbor, about 3 hours away.  In what was now becoming a familiar phrase, Betty asked me take us to our next destination.  I realized that my knees knocked less and the cold sweat on my upper lip was now gone.  Progress!!

Cold Spring Harbor, known to locals as CSH, is an old whaling village with adorable (and expensive) shops and restaurants.  It is protected by a beautiful harbor that runs parallel to the main street of the town.  The dinghy ride is less than 10 minutes and the dinghy dock is a 10 minute walk into the heart of town.  DNA was discovered by Drs. Watson and Frick and sequenced in the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, which is perched on a bluff overlooking the harbor.

We had a wonderful early dinner after doing some successful shopping.  We popped into the Whaling Museum (which during the school year is flanked by many school buses) but had to leave as it was closing in a few minutes.  When you're returning to a Krogen at the end of a great day, there is no such thing as being disappointed that plans didn't work out exactly!  We kicked off our shoes

and prepared to enjoy a now-empty harbor and another captivating sunset.  I can't believe I felt compelled to capture every single sunset, but each one was uniquely beautiful in its own right.  This one in CSH was no exception.  It would also be my last for a while.

This trip ended the next day in Huntington at our old marina, West Shore Marina. Though I navigated most of the way back from CSH, I handed the helm back to Betty once we entered Huntington Harbor on the approach to the marina.  The harbor is extremely narrow here and tricky, with crowded mooring fields on either side of a narrow channel.   It was great to see old friends at the marina, but saying goodbye to my new friends wasn't easy.  I took some pictures of us, bur for some reason was unable to find them in my uploads.  The picture of Kate and I in our port and starboard outfits cannot be displayed here.  They are on Mike Warren's camera, so if you see him, you can ask for a peek.

What a great time was had by all.  We saw wonderful sights, helped each other with boat chores, laughed a lot, enjoyed wonderful meals and most importantly, shared the love and passion for boating and simply enjoyed "being in the moment."

Thanks Betty for sharing your beautiful boat and home with us and for being such a gracious and lovely hostess!

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.......

So I wasn't kidding when I said we were selling everything to realize our dream of living aboard a Kadey Krogen Yacht.  We hope to close on October 10th (coincidentally our anniversary) and move on October 11th.  So please don't be upset that there hasn't been much boat news.

Today my daughter sent a mover to collect some things we both wanted her to have.  One of those items was a set of bookcases that I swear, held well over 150 books and pictures.  Those books are now on the floor of our office, spines facing out as per the instructions of the pro who is doing our tag sale on October 5th.  It took a herculean effort over 2 nights (after work, after playing with Tucker and taking care of Wiggles) to accomplish this seemingly simple feat.  When it comes to moving, I've discovered that nothing is simple, seemingly or otherwise.

On Monday (9/9), my sister in Wake Forest, NC is sending a mover to pick up some family heirloom pieces and rugs, along with assorted other things.  One of the pieces is a secretary that has been in our family for decades.  In fact, both my sister and I studied to be nurses at that secretary.  Remember how I said nothing is simple?  Well, this secretary holds my Waterford crystal collection of just about every glass Waterford made in the Alana pattern.  So as soon as I finish this post, I will begin to wrap each glass VERY carefully and mark the box so that I know not to open it until we're finally moved onto the boat.  What, you thought we'd be drinking out of plastic glasses?????  The drawers of this piece hold tablecloths, candles, and other assorted items for entertaining.  Some will be packed and others will be relegated to the tag sale pile.

The thought of what getting ready for this tag sale entails makes my knees weak.  It takes a lot to do that, so you can just imagine the work that lies ahead.  We've lived in this house 1 month shy of 28 years and though we're not pack rats by any means, things did accumulate over the years.   How do I part with the artwork Christina did growing up - the macrame key rings and macaroni necklaces?  Slowly but surely I will go through the memories living in this house has created and celebrate those wonderful times.  Luckily for Tom and I, more wonderful times lie ahead of us to balance the bittersweet closing of this chapter of our lives.  Waiting right around the corner are those myriad boat decisions to be made.  In fact, Tom B. has a second set of joinery drawings waiting to be finished and put in the mail to us, probably by this time next week.

As a sneak preview, I can announce that KKY 55-005 is expected to be released from the mold somewhere around September 20th - huge progress forward!  We are looking at a wonderful option for the master stateroom hatches, called Ocean Shades.  Very cool.  Laura and I have exchanged no less than a dozen emails about granite colors.  We've even tiptoed into the realm of settee covering and colors.  So as the dust settles around this major upheaval called moving, I will have more time to focus on all the fun decisions needing to be made during the next few months.

Now that I've given ample excuses for why I've not been posting, I want to tell you about my trip 2 weeks ago on Betty Robinson's gorgeous 48 North Sea, LiLi.  But......first I have to start packing those Waterford glasses, remember?

Next  post (hopefully tomorrow or Monday) will be about this fantastic experience - with pictures!! Yay!

OMG, What a Time!!!!!

Just got back from spending 4 nights aboard LiLi, a 48 North Sea owned by Betty Robinson.  When I accepted Betty's more than gracious invitation to join her on the last leg of her New England/Long Island trip, I had no idea what was in store for me.  Not only is LiLi Betty's boat, LiLi is also Betty's home.  Need I say more?

It's late and I have to go to work tomorrow, but just wanted to give you a heads up that there is a fun blog waiting for you hopefully by this weekend.  Pictures this time too!

Also, Tom Button is back from the yard in Taiwan and I have some PICTURES of the NEW BOAT in its fetal stages.

Stand by my loyal readers.  Fun reading is in store for you.

Wow, what a time it's been!

Somehow, it's been 3 weeks since my last post - 3 incredibly hectic weeks!  If things keep going at this pace, I'm going to combust before the boat is delivered!

Where to begin?  OK, I was crazy enough to pry 5 days out of my schedule to visit my sister in Wake Forest, North Carolina 8/7 through 8/12.  Good thing I did, cause I got to do the "r" word, relax.  Not part of my vocabulary, but I managed to learn that word quickly and happily.  Had a great visit!

Getting back was like being shot out of a cannon!  The would-be buyers of our home signed the contract the day I left and were anxiously awaiting my return so I could sign.  So there you have it!  A signed contract with a close date on or about October 30th.  Not knowing where to jump first, my daughter and I went to see the apartment complex we had selected and to our relief, they will have a one bedroom with loft/deck townhouse apartment available on October 11th.  We signed a 10 month lease and are ready to go.  Not so fast, there are no less than a billion things to do to get ready for that move.  Since we've been in our house nearly 28 years, I'm shaking at the thought of parting with so many things.  But, we need to downsize for the apartment, then yet again for the boat, so the sooner the better.  I have a list of things 10 miles long to accomplish in less than 60 days while working full-time, visiting Tucker, taking care of my horse, playing golf on my league and building a boat.  Just your average "to do" list, I guess.  LOL

Okay, great, on to the boat, you must be saying.  Sooooo, the big news is that the boat is in the mold and lamination has begun.  Please don't ask for details, cause there are none at the moment.  One of KKY's principals is going to the yard in Taiwan next week so there WILL BE PICTURES! Yes, I will share.

Remember how I was so happy with my faucet choices last post?  Well, it was back to the drawing board for the 2 head faucets.  The one I selected was prohibitively expensive, so without involving the captain, I did go back to the websites I had prowled for so long.  I actually used my time with my sister to devote my undivided attention for the 100th time to faucets.  After only 30 minutes, I selected a lovely centerset from Delta.  The handles were described as being "evocative of a wave".  Good enough for me.  High arc faucet, chrome finish - perfect.  Price was right too!

On Thursday, we had a conference call with KKY.  The week before, our first set of joinery drawings arrived, the basis of the call.  Since I was away, I had to devote a precious after work session to poring over the drawings and formulating questions for the conference call.  After 90 minutes of non-stop discussions about everything, room by room, I literally had to get off the call.  I was lightheaded from all the things we discussed, decided and approved.   We started in the master SR and moved forward, hinge by hinge, drawer by drawer.  I'll tell you one thing, the KKY folks are really sincere when they say they want their customers to be deleriously happy with their boat.  We discussed placement of shelves in cabinets, depths of cabinets, places for shoes, places for golf clubs, location for a litter box, width of doorways,  and a dizzying array of things I never knew needed to be thought about.  Though it's great fun, building a boat from scratch is an awesome undertaking.  I can't imagine taking this on without the daily guidance and hand holding of the KKY staff.  Not one question goes unanswered - and on the same day.  If I didn't know better,  I would swear 55005 was the only boat KKY was building.

The conference call was very productive.  Another set of joinery drawings will be arriving in about 2 weeks, incorporating our suggestions made during the conference call.  Close on the heels of the joinery drawings will be the electrical drawings.  I don't know how much input I'll have here, but I've been told that there is no such thing as too many light switches.  I'll think about that when the time comes.  Right now, I'm up to my ears in too many other details.

Next things to consider will be the granite, where to put it, how to finish the edges; where to put wall sconces to replace the standard chrome reading lights I hate, what shades to select (size and style), window coverings - I've already tip-toed into this pit of vipers.  Holy cow, do you have ANY idea how MANY choices there are for window treatments?

  The captain and I are leaning towards wooden blinds, with 2" slats in a cherry wood.  KKY is working with us on building the blinds into the window frame for a more custom look.  Even the blind conversation with a manufacturer was mind-blowing.  Holes or no holes?  Decorative or plain tapes?  Real wood or faux wood?  1" or 2"?  Can't anything be simple????  The person I spoke to is sending me several samples in several different finishes with and without holes, along with a few different decorative tapes.  I went so far as to call the folks in Stuart who did the salon window treatments on For Us and the privacy inserts for both boats.  If you think I'm pretty determined to get these blinds, you're right.  I went on the websites of every trawler manufacturer and looked at the salons of all their boats.  Hands down, I was drawn to the wooden blinds.  Nice to be confident with at least one major decision!

Again, lots of words to read without a break with pictures.  Forgive me, but I couldn't let another week go by without an update.  The one name Tom and I thought we liked is out of the running.  After living with it for a bit, we decided against it, so we're back to the drawing board.

Names my friends, NAMES!  Any and all suggestions will be very much welcomed!  You have a couple of weeks to think.  There probably won't be anything to report until the KKY folks return from Taiwan.  Hopefully, our patience will be rewarded with pictures of the infant boat.

Thanks for hanging in there with me during the dry spells.  More fun to follow!

A Productive Week is in the Rearview Mirror

This past week culminated in the receipt of the drawings promised by KKY (they always deliver what they promise).  A hectic week at work prevented me from trying to scan a legible copy but I promise to try this week.  Though the pics I took just now are not that clear, you can at least get an idea.

The drawings are very exciting since they pretty clearly depict what the sink and galley faucet will look like in place.  I'm pleased that they work and that I don't have to go back to the websites and start over.

Hard to really see any detail, but you can see the faucet in the center.  This is the faucet up close...

We also received color drawings of what the accent and boot stripe colors look like.  The captain had a big smile on his face when he looked at the drawings.  The sheer stripe color in green looks awesome above the blue boot stripe.  Though I know the boot stripe is pretty much below the water line, it still looks fantastic!  Hey, we have to be excited about what we have so far - and the drawings are it!

This is not in color.  I don't understand why the background is so dark, but too late to figure out why.  I'll try to upload the color drawings to this computer since they're on the computer at work.  But again, you can get the idea...

Our Laura was kind enough to chat with me about granite colors during our many, many, many emails back and forth during the course of a week.  Not only did she chat with me, but after carefully listening about the granite colors we like, sent us a nice-sized chunk of the color (it's still available, yay)!  To go even further, she also sent a big piece of the cherry that will be used on the boat - and not just any cherry, but aged cherry so we could get the most precise idea of the combo over time.  Not sure if you can tell, but the granite is a gray-green, very cool against the cherry.  I'm not a fan of light colored granite with a lot of inclusions, too busy.  Tom and I both like a bit more contrast.  Not sure if the heads will have the same color, but for now, this color is coming out on top.  Nothing final yet, but we're on our way!

Though the photos are not great, it's better than having to wade through my rambling descriptions and deal with all those words on a page.  There will be more photos and better ones, as things start to take shape.

The captain and I have been talking names these past 2 weekends.  We both seem to tend towards a single name with 4-5 syllables.  Some of our suggestions have been in ending in "y".  Probably because we loved our signature blue star nestled in the "y" of Serenity so much.  I guess you guys are waiting for a prize to be announced since I have not received a single suggestion.  Come on, please help us out!

By the way, we still have not gotten a signed contract on the house.  We're hoping that happens this week.   Not too much going on....

Even though there wasn't too much to report in this post, I feel badly if I let a week go by with no updates.  So, I'll be back as soon as there are some interesting tidbits to share.

Have a great week everyone!

Not too much going on now...

...in boat land that is.

We accepted an offer on our home Friday and had the inspection today.  These folks appear to be serious.  Have 3 small things to fix, then hopefully, a signed contract.  Can't rush these things.  You can say Tom and I have been a bit busy with even more business on the horizon.

Came to several boat decisions last week:

Accent stripe and boot color.  As I mentioned, the bow on this boat is quite imposing.  We decided to create a nice visual by adding an accent stripe just below the capstrip.  The accent stripe will be Awlgrip Forest Green and the boot stripe will be Seahawk Blue.  That's it, blue.  No special words to describe this color, just blue (Seahawk is the paint manufacturer).  Thank goodness for this manufacturer's simplicity of only offering 5 basic colors.  If you're really curious about what these colors look like, you can go to the websites.  Awlgrip has a nice color chip chart while Seahawk just lists its colors down the side of the page.  The captain and I have always been partial to shades of blue and green on our boats.  Brings the outside in without getting wet.

Central vac system.  Luckily a new 52 owner took time to answer my very long list of questions, central vac vs. canister among them.  She is like us, 3 boats in under 5 years.  She has had central vac in all 3 of her boats and wouldn't consider doing without.  So, we're putting in a system by Intervac, specially designed for boats and RVs.  This system will be flush mounted in the machinery space so we don't have to look at it.  Though I'll have to go into the engine room to empty the bag, I don't plan to vacuum enough to make that an issue.  Besides, it's good to visit one's engine room with regularity, so I've been told.  The inlet will be centrally placed in the companionway leading to the staterooms to easily access the main floor and pilothouse.  I've been researching a retractable hose that coils up neatly into a mesh bag when not in use.  It's pricey, so more reading is needed.

Sink and faucets.  Things got so crazy in this department that the captain told me in no uncertain terms that he would delete without reading any emails making ANY reference to a sink or a faucet.  Tom Button is the most amazing man.  I've said this before and know I will be saying it again.  The man didn't flinch while I went on about corners, mountings, drain location, finish, etc.  To make things worse, I decided on different faucets than the ones KKY uses.  Same manufacturer because it's one of the best, but different styles.  I don't exaggerate when I say that I looked at websites and faucets for 3 days!  Drove myself nuts, that's how bad it got.  Though there are only 3 main faucet manufacturers that I had an interest in, they each make dozens of faucet styles.  Despite the fact that I had pretty much decided on Grohe (we have this one at home and have been very happy with it), I of course had to be sure I wasn't missing something.  So, I spent the next 2 lunch breaks poring over the Delta and Moen websites.  Nice faucets, but I was hung up on Grohe.  So another lunch break later, I narrowed my choice for the galley faucet down to a style called Ladylux Cafe (model # 33755 SDO).  This faucet features a high, arched neck with a pull-down sprayer and a single lever.  Very neat and clean and only 1 hole in the granite.  The high neck is essential for those huge pots of water for pasta I mentioned earlier.  The finish is some sort of stainless that will match the appliances.  The head faucets will be similar, of course scaled down since I won't be filling pasta pots in the head.  My selection for the head faucets is Allure Single Lever Basin Mixer, again very simple and elegant.
The sink was a maddening choice, I have no idea why.  We finally selected Elkay model number ELUH2317EK (KKY uses this one on their boats).  It's an undermount, has rounded corners, is 10" deep and has the drain off center to the left.  It's a sink, says the captain when I told him my great accomplishment.  The patient Tom Button will have my selections placed on a drawing.  If I can find a way to scan the drawing so it's legible, I'll be happy to share.  If not, you'll have to wait for pictures of the real thing.

While I'm prattling on about sinks and faucets, Tom, Tom Button and the electronics people are having really meaningful discussions.  Since I can't lend too much in this department, I'll focus on my strengths and keep my lack of knowledge about all things Garmin to myself.  Yes, we are going with Garmin again.  We absolutely loved the system we had on Serenity.  It worked beautifully, did the job without confusion and never failed us.  With the exception of a few more bells and whistles and bigger display screens tilt mounted, we're pretty much duplicating Serenity.  The electronics folks had the chance to come aboard Serenity during our last visit in June and were able to see exactly what we had so we're not starting from a blank slate.

Please forgive the lack of pictures.  I just looked over what I've written and don't know if I'd be inclined to wade through all these words without some comic relief from a picture.  If I had a different lifestyle and was home for more than 2 hours between the end of my day and bedtime, I could probably have uploaded some pictures from the website.  Alas and alack, that is not to be!

When we finally get to the pictures, just think of how sweet it will be.  Right now, I'd be thrilled with any pictures at all!  Tom Button promises some early pictures of KK55-005 in its fetal stages, in the mold.  I understand that's not too far off.

If you are the good followers I know you are, Tom and I would appreciate some name suggestions.  I've been asked to write a little piece for a KKY newsletter about the genesis of the name once we've selected one.  I want to make it a fun to read and interesting story, so please send me your suggestions.  I'd like to offer a prize but am too consumed with house and boat thoughts to think that one through.

I'll be back hopefully with the drawings of what I've selected so far.  You do notice I've been saying "I" all along right?  When we get to the electronics, the references will be "he" and "him".  Until then, happy reading and thanks for taking this amazing trip with us.