Thursday, December 18, 2008

It should be the 60 days of Christmas because I need that much time.

I'll be honest and say that I've been very lazy when it comes to posting items here. The holiday season and other commitments have kept me from building or writing anything. I have projects lined up like bad traffic. So please have some faith that I will get back to business very soon. Of course I doubt that many people actually know of this blog, but that's beside the point.



So have a good Christmas or whatever and I'll see you soon.
Until next time, keep the wind at your back and press on.

Skipper Jim
History Afloat

Monday, November 24, 2008

It's darn cold in this part of the world...workshop time is at a minimum despite the number of projects on the go. I'm working on a present for someone... For legal purposes I shall refer to it as a cinematic jungle steam launch.... i'm sure thats easy enough to guess.










Until next time, keep the wind at your back and press on.

Skipper Jim
History Afloat

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Wow... it's been a month since I posted anything..... That's how ill I was feeling... Ok.. time to get back to work.

Birthday is over, and there are things to be done. I'll be back with an update soon.

Until next time, keep the wind at your back and press on.

Skipper Jim
History Afloat

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Being sick as a kid was much more fun!

I've got the flu. I hate it. My day is thrown right off. All I can do is mess around with a little paint.

Results so far....

Now time for more rest.
Until next time, keep the wind at your back and press on.

Skipper Jim
History Afloat

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

And so it begins....

Fall has officially reared it's ugly head and the weather is getting that "this isn't Summer anymore" feel to it. I was away for the weekend, which led to a cold and other various maladies.

I'm working on the game pieces for the Paddle wheeler board game again... I like this newer version... it has the appropriate curves and shadow lines.

a couple of pictures and then back to work





Until next time, keep the wind at your back and press on.

Skipper Jim
History Afloat

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The slower time passes, the less I get done..

Today life is moving at a much quieter pace thanks to the dentist and his magic pills...Best not to throw myself into the shop and risk tool usage, especially when I'm not 100%. I've become fond of counting with all eleven ( oops I mean ten) of my fingers'.



So for now I leave you with a picture of a rough version of an ongoing small project.

Until next time, keep the wind at your back and press on.

Skipper Jim
History Afloat

Monday, September 15, 2008

Watching the clock



I don't have a boss.... but I have someone who watches all my work, and passes judgment on it. Her name is Margaret, and she does not suffer fools lightly. She is always poking her nose into whatever I'm doing. She'll be twelve in November. An old lady who has to have her say.

I like to think of her as quality control. Her hours are erratic, and she spends most of her day horizontal, dreaming about whatever dogs dream about..... rabbits and pepperoni I think.

Until next time, keep the wind at your back and press on.

Skipper Jim
History Afloat

Forget outer space, inner space is already overwhelming



I've tried to get a handle on the craziness I call the workshop. Actually, it seems as if it's more storage less working space. That's why I took the bull by the horns today and tried to clean out the mess. Part of the problem is little wood bits all over the place. I can't seem to throw most of it out. Who know when I'll find a use for some of them.....but rest assured, as soon as I do toss them out, that need will arise. So I'm going to try and keep fifty percent of it... the rest will go straight to the dump.

Until next time, keep the wind at your back and press on.

Skipper Jim
History Afloat

No time to start like the present.....

I can't quite picture who might wind up reading this blog..... more than likely it will be someone like myself. In a way, that's a good thing. I'd rather be putting stuff down on paper (actually typing on the computer) that is of some interest to some people.

I guess I'll be speaking to folks who are "Boat Struck" like myself. Fans of all things nautical, and even more specifically, model boats and all things related to them.

I currently have five books on the go. Various types of boats and their histories will be covered. Included in each book will be plans that help the reader build their own model. I'm currently behind on my schedule of getting things done. Partly due to procrastination (I wonder if there is a pill available for that?) and partially due to the fact that I keep coming up with new ideas that take my attention away from things that need doing.

I live in a weird world that has a schism down the center of it. Half of it deals with technological work. i.e. writing, blogging, desktop publishing, research, etc, etc. The other half is pure 18th, 19th, and 20th century stuff...boat building (albeit on a smaller scale). Designing and building leaves me covered with pencil lead and dried glue.

So there it is for now... my life in a nutshell. I'll try and post things more often. For now let me leave you with a couple of pics of ongoing projects.

Until next time, keep the wind at your back and press on.

Skipper Jim
History Afloat