Xmas day with Lea daughter and family

Lea posing for her Xmas picture with me while she sported her new yellow scarf and poke-a-dot umbrella.

PropTalk Magazine

For all of our followers and friends.  Lea and I are proud to advise you that PropTalk Magazine will be doing an eight month long series about the retrofitting of Gliding Gander and her maiden voyage to the Caribbean.  We want to invite each of you to either go online to read PropTalk or be sure to pick up a copy next time you are near a store that has them.  You can go online to find store locations near you.  The first story about Gliding Gander was already published this January.  Please do not miss it.


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to each of you.


Lea and Garon

Christmas eve and getting very close!!

Gliding Gander being taped off for her new bottom paint

Kevin and Dinky getting ready to paint the bottom

Think Matt should put his life jacket on?

Cockpit with custom ladder all wrapped up in foam to keep it from getting scratched.

Finishing touches are being put on stateroom cabinet doors.  Notice the roughed-in windlass through the stateroom window?

Matt and Tony getting their Christmas eve hugs underneath the what??  A chart rack.

Todd Hickman getting his Christmas eve hug from Lea Lea.

Making headway .... will not be long before Gliding Gander gets launched

Stateroom cabin hatch

Tony installing bumper around stern

Cockpit with engine covers removed

Stateroom with forward looking and overhead hatches

Salon with windows installed

Name and home port on stern

Guys installing bumper on starboard side

Brand/length and Tony's company name/logo on port side.  Note exhaust pipe with scupper behind.

Best of all... a few of my corporate family at the Virginia office SO-Deep, Inc. Christmas party!!!!!

Painting is completed on hull and topsides - plus the windows and door are installed...........

Tony's cell phone picture of door, windows and paint job.

Aristo Blue Hull about to get its third coat of paint

Tony took this picture with his cell telephone.  Don't forget there is a flybridge and canopy to come.....soon.... we hope.  You can click on any of these pictures to enlarge them.

GoogleEarth wish list for our trip.........................

Herein is the approximate GoogleEarth plot for our desired trip.  Many factors can alter our course and time; i.e., weather, mechanical problems, priacy, peolpe, places and other things as they arise.  Stay tuned to this blog site as we will keep you up to date until our return next July.

Scott and Ben took the canopy top and flybridge to Capt. Greg Jetton's [Rock Hall, Md. Charter Boat Captain extroordinary] shop to wire it up inside in the heat.  Ben told me he was willing to work outside to do whatever it took; however, I am told, Scott couldn't deal with the great outdoors.

I promised, the next time you would see the Gliding Gander it would be painted Aistro Blue.  Note the reflections in the paint.

Note the reflection of Tony's tractor in the bow paint.

Tony (left), Dinky and our new painter Lewis (right).  I let Lewis know how disappointed I am in him.  I reminded him had he shown up in July when we got started, we might have the boat finished by now. After all, Lewis showed up on the job and three days later the hull is blue!

Last time you will ever see Gliding Gander's hull before the final coat of paint!

Anybody want to guess the final color?  Going once, going twice, gone.

After extensive polling on this blog site among our followers the decision is unanimous!

Even though Tony has given significant warnings about blistering, scratches showing through, and highlighting any imperfections in the gelcoat, the final decision is to paint the hull "Aristo Blue" with an "Off White" cabin and flybridge.

Go to:  http://www.awlgrip.com/support/colorcards/Pages/ColorCard.aspx?card=Standard if you want to see the color chart.

PS:  Did I mention Lea and I were the only two votes on the blog site?

Windows update

Good News.  Diamond Sea Glaze, manufacturer of our new windows and door, responded to Tony upon hearing of the problem (about two windows being made the wrong size by saying), "They will make new, proper windows and ship them to us, SAP, in two weeks -- without additional charge!  This could have been real bad.  Diamond Sea Glaze -- thank you very much!

WINDOWS, windows, and WINDOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally ........

Windows, port lights and hatches cutouts.

Windshield and stateroom ceiling hatch cutouts. 

Can you see the mistake in the outboard windows?  The windows are wider at the top than at the bottom.  Tony will need to contact Diamond Sea Glaze the window and door manufacturer to see what, if anything, they can do to help us out on a rush basis.  Stay tuned for this breaking story.

Stateroom, forward looking hatch rough-in.

Cutouts for cabin windows.

Port hatch cutout in head.

Starboard cutout in closet.  Note the electronic computers and control heads mounted to the bulkhead.  The large pipe is ducting for the heat and air conditioning unit.

Gliding Gander peeking outside on a nice afternoon.  The open doors sure make for fresher air while sanding for the upcoming paint job.