# This is my house---don't get used to it!



## Captain Evil

They are coming to crash my house down next week: the insurance company will no longer insure it, because there is too much wrong with it. To fix it would cost a fortune, so we are gonna knock it down and build something new.









The bank hasn't exactly said yes yet, but since we will be homeless as of next week, I am hopeful that they will. Wish me luck...


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## NorthernMama

Wow! Good luck! 

Why wouldn't you keep that place, even uninsured, while you build the new house? Maybe there isn't enough room on your property, or the town won't let you, but that's what I would do.

Where are you going to live while you build? In the barn? My brother bought an RV to live in with his family when they were in a similar situation. After building, he sold the RV for almost what he paid for it. Cheaper than rent and he could live right where he was building.


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## Captain Evil

NorthernMama said:


> Wow! Good luck!
> 
> Why wouldn't you keep that place, even uninsured, while you build the new house? Maybe there isn't enough room on your property, or the town won't let you, but that's what I would do.
> 
> Where are you going to live while you build? In the barn? My brother bought an RV to live in with his family when they were in a similar situation. After building, he sold the RV for almost what he paid for it. Cheaper than rent and he could live right where he was building.


We pretty much have to rebuild right where the current house is, only closer to our pond. Our land is only about two acres, with much of it pond, so we don't have too much choice. But it's going to be cool... right on the pond (man-made, so no legal issues), and we are building it just like the barn; post and beam. 

Our town won't let you live in an RV unless you are in an approved RV campground. So, we are going to live on the boat while we build, which in Maine, is no picnic... two people, two Newfies, no showers or toilets.... But, while we don't have a TV at home, there is an 80" TV on the boat, so WHOOPIE!!! I think we will join a fitness club for the winter, just to use the facilities! And we will be so healthy!


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## NorthernMama

A boat, in Maine, in November/December/January???? Yikes! Hopefully you will have lots of good weather for building.

It would be interesting to watch as things develop. Do you have destruction pics already?


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## Captain Evil

Not yet: "D" day is set for Thursday. I am keeping the camera handy, and hope to get some good wreckage shots. I'm excited, but also a bit scared; the bank hasn't given us a firm okay yet, just casual approval. But, hey! If they don't come through, we'll just stick with the boat. Tie a big barge on behind for Ahab.


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## bkylem

Captain Evil said:


> They are coming to crash my house down next week: the insurance company will no longer insure it, because there is too much wrong with it. To fix it would cost a fortune, so we are gonna knock it down and build something new.
> 
> View attachment 314817
> 
> 
> The bank hasn't exactly said yes yet, but since we will be homeless as of next week, I am hopeful that they will. Wish me luck...


You certainly have a great attitude to a very unusual and seemingly tough situation.

I admire that.

Hope it all works out !


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## MangoRoX87

Hu...I wish we could knock our house down!!! Lol


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## Saddlebag

I bought one in tough shape and set to work on changing that. 3/4 of the house had to be rewired including an upgraded panel and service. Cost me less than $300 whereas the professional estimates were $2200 and up. Two large windows occupied most of the north wall in the living room. When the weather warmed I gutted the wall down to the framing, reframed a new opening and reduced it to one window with the other acting like a storm window. Redid the sockets, new insulation and vapor barrier and replaced panelling. Cost-$50. The master bedroom was gutted, rewired, new sockets and switches, new insulation and vapor barrier. The best part was when the electricity inspector stopped by and gave me kudos for my work. Even learned how to solder so the hot water tank could be moved.


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## Chevaux

Subbing for updates. I must say, despite it being a problem for you, there's something of character in your old house.


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## NorthernMama

Wait, if the bank doesn't come through, wouldn't you be better off with a crappy old house, than no house? Even if there isn't insurance, if it is paid for, then does insurance matter? I'm not sure I would bulldoze the existing unless I knew I could build again.


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## Wild Heart

As NorthernMama mentioned, I would personally wait until the bank said yes before I flattened my house. 

I would hate for the bank to say no and you winding up without a home.


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## Saddlebag

Have you applied for the permit to rebuild? In Ontario the cost of the permit is based on the estimated value of the work done before January 1. Another permit has to be purchased for the new year. The bank hasn't said yes until the paperwork has been signed. Don't assume that what an employee has told you is gospel.


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## zookeeper1991

Good luck with everything!!


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## jaydee

Wow you sound so calm about it all - I'd be doing the whole headless chicken thing right now if it was me!!
Shame - it looks a real quirky building
I don't understand the RV rule - its the same here as we found out when we wanted to buy a plot of land and live in either an RV or a trailer home while we built and were told it wasn't allowed under zoning regs


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## NorthernMama

Saddlebag said:


> Have you applied for the permit to rebuild? In Ontario the cost of the permit is based on the estimated value of the work done before January 1. Another permit has to be purchased for the new year. The bank hasn't said yes until the paperwork has been signed. Don't assume that what an employee has told you is gospel.


Actually, building permits in Ontario are municipal based, so the fees and expiration times vary from town to town. 

I also agree that the bank hasn't agreed until you have a signed paper. Been there, done that, got burned.


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## Captain Evil

Hi guys... Been a little frantic out here. So, all you guys who advised waiting for the bank to sign... You were right! Apparently, the bank still owns the house. Who knew??? And, they had a little bit to say about our impending plans of destruction. They say we can't destroy the house without their written consent. Wish we had known before Ed got busy with the sledgehammer and sawzall. I THINK it will be okay... 

We have a meeting with them tomorrow at ten; meanwhile, the wreckers arrive at seven. My husband says there's so much prep work to do he can keep 'em busy until we know what the bank says.

Photos might be hard, since my computer is now stored... I'm left with just an iPad.

Oh, and I agree about the house. I really like it, and am Sad about it's destruction, but, the mold, the eternally wet basement, the roof with no sheathing, just shingles nailed to eachother, and the floor is falling into the wet basement, along with the back wall... So, about $30,000.00 to fix it up. But, I can't help being a little sad, and a lot stressed.


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## Tack Collector

My ex's relatives tore theirs down in order to rebuild on the same spot. Here was their plan:

They had some type of old spring house on the property (old farm) and it already had water and electric. They put in washer/dryer hookups and set their washer and dryer up in there, along with some type of electric heater to keep water pipes from freezing up.

They had, earlier, installed a half bathroom and a water heater in their pole barn. They used the shower stall there.

They borrowed or rented a camper trailer from their neighbors. It was about a 24' bumper pull camper. They lived in it while the house was being built.

Storage for the entire house contents, including appliances, etc., and I think this was genius: They rented one of those semi trailers, old tractor-trailer box trailers that are no longer roadworthy, the kind you see parked at construction sites to store stuff. They had it delivered to their yard, and they hired local professional movers to pack and move furniture and other items from the old house to the trailer. They kept the trailer locked. The man of the house was retired, so he was generally home all day and acted as general contractor and kept an eye on things so that they didn't get stolen.

He knocked the old house down, using a Bobcat for the most part. (He said looking at how easily it went down, he was convinced they had made the right decision, haha.)

They built a new foundation, slightly deeper than the original rancher house had been, and they put a nice big basement under the new house.


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## Captain Evil

Well, the house is gone. Totally gone. Still no, ahh, concrete, word on a bank loan... Things got complicated, fast. I have to say, despite the stress of the financial unknowns and the fact that we destroyed a house that technically did not belong to us, things are going well. 

The saddest part for me was that my favorite willow tree was severly pruned to make room for the machinery, and an oak and a fir tree were destroyed. The awesome part is everything else (except the money part, of course). The workers are doing an amazing job. At one point they dug some cat tails out of the pond, and in among the rushes was a huge American eel, over a foot long! My husband caught it and returned it safely to the pond, although it was a slippery operation. But how did an eel make it into our man-made, land locked pond? Most intriguing!


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## NorthernMama

Woah. That's some pretty freaky stuff right there - no loan and you kind of "stole" a house, yet don't have a house to live in now! LOL. Good luck!!!!

As for the eel -- they have been known to do land crossings.


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## amp23

This does not sound like a fun situation to be in, good luck!

The eel thing is creepy... I don't know how I'd feel about an eel being in my pond. lol


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## Saddlebag

Who is to say you can build on that land? I hope you don't find your hinies in court for destroying someone else's property.


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## my2geldings

That's a really scary situation to be in. It seems like you put the carriage ahead of the horses on that one. I would have waited and confirmed with the banks first before taking anything down. Hopefully you dont get into some law troubles if things turn out to be even more complicated than you initially thought. 
Hope to hear a positive update


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## Captain Evil

Saddlebag said:


> Who is to say you can build on that land? I hope you don't find your hinies in court for destroying someone else's property.



Well... an update. We still have no real idea what is going to happen. Our hinies may well be in deep doo doo, but, we shall see. This is our house being demolished...









And this is what we have there now...









We are paying for the current work out of pocket, and are hoping for the best.


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## NorthernMama

Good good GOOD luck! Fingers crossed that you get all the money, permits and weather that you need to get this done!


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## Saddlebag

I'm thinking, if the bank owned the house, it owns the land. Now that the house is demolished they may opt to put the land on the market to the highest bidder. There's an old expression "to assume - makes and a** out of u and me.


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## txshorserider

Sounds like a rough situation....goodluck. /i hope yall get to build a nice new place


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## Tack Collector

Saddlebag said:


> I'm thinking, if the bank owned the house, it owns the land. Now that the house is demolished they may opt to put the land on the market to the highest bidder. ...


That's what I'd be worried about, too.


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## Wild Heart

Looks like a lovely little plot of land! 

I do hope the bank approves of the loan. As Saddlebag mentioned, I would hate for them to take the property.


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## Captain Evil

I don't think they will do anything too drastic. They own the house, but we do too, and we have pre-paid the mortgage up through the summer. They aren't too happy, but ... well, we'll see. Right now we are spending our days in the shop, and I feel like a member of the French Resistance, huddled around the oil drum fire, developing plans and strategies. Here is the most important feature of my life right now...


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## Shropshirerosie

Good luck!

Whilst this situation is ermmm unusual, it's a fairly simple equation for the bank:

If they believe that you will in a timely fashion competently build a new house that will result in a total value of the land and buildings at more than the total debt...

And if you continue to make your contractual regular payments 

.....then their best decision will be loan the money.

If they consider that their money is looking less secure by the day, that you will not or cannot build well enough to add value to the land...

And if you default on your payments....

Then they would make a decision to cut their losses and foreclose on their mortgage and sell the plot.

It doesn't sound as though you have got to that stage yet  and so I wish you luck with the construction plans. I bet your poor bank manager is wishing that he had more conventional customers who don't cause him these 'doesn't fit in the boxes on the computer' forms :shock:


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## aspin231

Subbing to this thread! Unusual situation, certainly!


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## Captain Evil

It is a weird situation, to be sure. We have done as much as we can with out personal resources; now we are just waiting on the bank... a big unknown. Here is the most recent picture of what our dooryard looks like. The ground is ready for the slab to be formed, and the pilings for the deck are pounded into the pond... now we are just waiting.


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## ladygodiva1228

Why is the bank dragging their feet? I would call them daily for an update stating you want to get this going before the snow really starts falling. Best of luck to you.


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## bkylem

Captain Evil said:


> They are coming to crash my house down next week: the insurance company will no longer insure it, because there is too much wrong with it. To fix it would cost a fortune, so we are gonna knock it down and build something new.
> 
> View attachment 314817
> 
> 
> The bank hasn't exactly said yes yet, but since we will be homeless as of next week, I am hopeful that they will. Wish me luck...


I like the look of it. Very bohemian with a touch of Key West.


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## Captain Evil

Hey, thanks! Today the man who will be pouring our slab came by, formed it up and then we all blanketed the site to keep it warm. Our house design is kind of weird, and includes two children's toilets to serve as dog water bowls for our Newfoundlands. They produce a ton of sludgy drool, and this way we can just flush the toilets after they drink instead of changing their water bowls twelve times a day. Hope the bank likes it, but so far, no word.


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## amp23

As weird as that sounds, that's very smart!! Good luck in everything


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## my2geldings

That is one crazy story. You must be so stressed with this going on. Hopefully you will get more information soon.


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## Shropshirerosie

Captain Evil; Our house design is kind of weird said:


> That's genius!


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## Saddlebag

I think you need to go to the bank with a set of drawings and the names of the contractors. Fly by night as no good as there are inspections that need to be done. Also you need to insure the house as work proceeds. A fire has been known to happen during the building phase.


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## Captain Evil

So, still no word from the bank, but we are working on stuff anyway. These are the plumbing ditches we dig this morning. Mine is the awesome one that heads straight out to the water; my husband's is the puny one that heads over to Ahab's barn.


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## Saddlebag

I do so hope that after completion of this project that the bank doesn't foreclose. You demolished their house and they may be quite happy to have to replace it then repossess.


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## Captain Evil

Saddlebag said:


> I do so hope that after completion of this project that the bank doesn't foreclose. You demolished their house and they may be quite happy to have to replace it then repossess.


I hope not too, although... Well, obviously I am not great on the law thing, or the original house would still be standing, but the mortgage is paid up until next summer, so... But anyway, if the bank does not come through the rebuilding is coming to a screeching halt, as we are almost at the end of our personal resources. Bit of a nail biter for us!


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## Shropshirerosie

Saddlebag said:


> I do so hope that after completion of this project that the bank doesn't foreclose. You demolished their house and they may be quite happy to have to replace it then repossess.


Well, the house didn't _belong_ to the bank, they have a loan secured on the property which consists of land and buildings.

A bank doesn't act out of revenge, but only in the best interests of their money. While the payments are being made the alarm bells aren't ringing. 

It is quite possible that the bank will loan the OP the money needed to finish the project, particularly if that is clearly the best way to make the security on the existing loan more valuable.

It's all a numbers game and I am now rooting for the OP!


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## ladygodiva1228

Banks cannot forclose on a property that has payments made in advance. They only forclose on properties that the owner has not made payments on.

Did the bank know that the insurance company refused to insure the property any longer due to the issues with it? If so then you really shouldn't have any problems with them, but did you apply for a construction loan with them that you are waiting for approval on and have the original loan?


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## Captain Evil

ladygodiva1228 said:


> Banks cannot forclose on a property that has payments made in advance. They only forclose on properties that the owner has not made payments on.
> 
> Did the bank know that the insurance company refused to insure the property any longer due to the issues with it? If so then you really shouldn't have any problems with them, but did you apply for a construction loan with them that you are waiting for approval on and have the original loan?


Yes, that is exactly right. And we met with them this afternoon... well, it was not real pretty. Apparently our land has ost half of it's value, as has our whole community, since we bought it, so... the loan they can do is really small.


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## Shropshirerosie

I'm sorry about that - so your house plans have to shrink?

I hope you can see a way through it all.

How frustrating for you that the problem now is not of our causing, nor can you influence it. Look at the long term now if you can; property values will eventually go up!


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## ladygodiva1228

Captain Evil said:


> Yes, that is exactly right. And we met with them this afternoon... well, it was not real pretty. Apparently our land has ost half of it's value, as has our whole community, since we bought it, so... the loan they can do is really small.


I was afraid of that. Everyone's properties it seems have lost value. I would take what you can get from them. Can you or are you doing any of the work yourselves? If so call around to sawmills/lumber yards instead of going to the home depot and lowes for the wood.


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## Captain Evil

Shropshirerosie said:


> It's all a numbers game and I am now rooting for the OP!


Hey, thanks!

Yesterday was pretty depressing, that's for sure, and to be honest, even though it was totally our fault, the banker did lead us on a bit... "Your credit is good with us" "Should be no problem" "We know you can make the payments" and when we went in with the initial loan request, "Doesn't look like enough... make sure you add 20% for things you can't plan for..." And then, he coughed up with about half of our first request. 

Still, we shouldn't have knocked the house down. That's just the truth.

HOWEVER!!! We have the most awesome business banker, and it looks like... it just might be... that he will see his way clear to refinancing some business stuff to make up most of the difference. We'll find out tomorrow.


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## Captain Evil

Have you ever gone out to the Port-A-Pottie in the early morning, with workmen all over the place, discover too late that you are out of toilet paper, and have to call your husband on the cell phone to bring out some more, only to have him announce to everyone there what he is doing? I have.:?


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## ladygodiva1228

Captain Evil said:


> Have you ever gone out to the Port-A-Pottie in the early morning, with workmen all over the place, discover too late that you are out of toilet paper, and have to call your husband on the cell phone to bring out some more, only to have him announce to everyone there what he is doing? I have.:?


 
That is when you wait for him to go out there and then start shaking it and yell earthquake. LOL


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## Captain Evil

5:30 in the morning... 8 degrees... pitch black dark.... the Port-A-Pottie is a cold and lonely place...


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## gunslinger

_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Captain Evil

The slab is poured.... Ten guys showed up at 6:30 this morning with trucks and dogs and cigarettes and coke cans and arms and gloves and legs and boots were flying everywhere, and by 10:30 we had a slab strong enough to stand on. Kind of a whirlwind experience.









Now, if only the bank would call with some good news...:shock:


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## Shropshirerosie

Excellent. You have beautiful land, and you have the makings of a house. It will all come through one way or another.


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## Wild Heart

Looks like you are making some great progress even with the bank dragging their feet on the project.

Keep updating! =)


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## Captain Evil

6:30 am, Negative 15 degrees Farenheit, have to work outside today.... Anyone glad they're not me? 

But I have to say, the cold winter morning moon is incredibly beautiful.


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## Shropshirerosie

You have my empathy, it's tiring doing physical work in the cold.

The full moon is lovely isn't it? I'm glad you are seeing life with a beautiful edge to it.


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## gunslinger

Captain Evil said:


> 6:30 am, Negative 15 degrees Farenheit, have to work outside today.... Anyone glad they're not me?
> 
> But I have to say, the cold winter morning moon is incredibly beautiful.


If I were you, I'd put a heater of some sort in the port-a-potty.....


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## Captain Evil

*A Rant* (My first rant on Horse Forum! Hopefully my last...)

I'm so frustrated! Still no $$$ from the bank! We call, we make appointments, we talk, and everytime either he can't see us or else he says, "Congradulations! Your application has been approved!" Shakes our hand, claps us on the shoulder... 

I think our banker has lost his marbles!

Because the very next time we see him, it's "I am meeting with the board to see if we can boost up your loan." then it's "Congradulations! Your assessment looks good!" then it's "Your appraisal came in low; all of Maine is depressed!" then it's "Your troubles are over! Your loan has been approved!" then it's "Don't call me, I'll call you when I have news." and then we are back to "Congradulations! Your loan has been approved!"

What the heck: is our banker senile? This has been going on since early September, when he gave us our first verbal okay, said he agreed that fixing up up our old house was useless, loved the new house plans, but told us to ask for more money. 

Two days ago we heard again, "Congradulations! Your loan has been approved!" Call me...ah... Monday!! This is literally about the eighth time! We really needed to have the frame cut by now (it is a post and beam).

And of course, we picked the worst winter in twenty years to crash our house down. Still, the slab is poured and looks good, and the septic is in. We have radiant heating in the slab and the guts stick up in the air about 2 1/2 feet: TOTALLY covered in snow! So much snow, then ice... then snow... more snow coming...


























Have to say, it is the most beautiful Christmas I've ever seen.


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## Wild Heart

Is there any way you can work with a different banker? Perhaps someone who can stay on track might be better suited for your project.

Anyways, I hope you get your money soon enough! I can't imagine how cold it is getting up there, even though the ice does make for some lovely photos.


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## Captain Evil

Update: We have done a couple of things: we got a second banker involved, and arranged for a second loan by refinancing some business loans we have. We are hoping for a January 3rd signing...

We also got called into a big meeting with the first banker on December 31, who said, "Congratulations! Your loan has been approved!" And he shook our hands, and gave us each a gel pen.


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## KigerQueen

Wow What happy pills is he on and can i have some? Hopefully you guys get this all sorted out soon .


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## NorthernMama

oooo, a gel pen. You're set for life now. How does that banker sleep at night?
Good luck today!


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## Captain Evil

So..... the saga continues. Banker A has called us in THREE MORE TIMES to sign papers. Meanwhile, Banker B (the good banker) has told us that the reason everything is SO SLOW is that a lot of the banks here in Maine closed due to the weather, their systems were down, they were working by the light of their cell phones (???) and that their main loan person broke her ankle very badly on the ice.

BUT! He e-mailed me to say he hopes today is the day. If so, we have a roof to order they will start cutting the timbers, and we will get the stuff to build the dock. It is very big: 12' by 72', and hangs out over the pond, and we need to build it in order to work on the house itself.

Meanwhile, I have gotten all the taxes done (YEAH): first time I have finished them before August in my life.


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## jaydee

Sounds like progress


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## Captain Evil

Late Friday afternoon --- Banker #2 (our awesome business banker) came through with some bucks: a little less than half of the money. But, in the re-writing our current business loans, he consolidated this and re-financed that, and the upshot is that even with this HUGE addition to our current loan, all of our new loans together are going to amount to less than all of our old loans combined. So.... YEAH!!!

We have ordered the beams to be cut, the roof to be made, and are going to start on the deck on Monday: 7:30 sharp! 

Good-bye cushie life

Hello freezing cold hard work!

I'm so excited!


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## Shropshirerosie

Congratulations - I admire your perseverance and ability to not go stark raving bonkers :lol:

Thank goodness for Banker No 2!


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## CLaPorte432

its a good thing you got a 2nd banker involved. that other guy was just stringing you guys along. like someone else said...how does he sleep at night?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## ladygodiva1228

Of course the week that it is going to be freezing again. Try and stay warm Captain. And watch the other workers for frostbite and stuff. We all know how men don't like to listen to their own bodies.


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## NorthernMama

I can't imagine doing a construction project in the cold. You know when you hammer your finger -- when it's below freezing outside the only good thing is that your finger might already be numb. The bad part is you won't notice the damage until you warm up somewhere.


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## Captain Evil

It is SO COLD building this house! In the negative numbers, and with a 30 knot wind blowing... just brutal. I have so many layers on: I get home and think, "Oh, these clothes don't smell so bad, I can wear these tomorrow, and then by the time I have peeled down a few layers... Whew! Everything in the wash!

Ahab loves this weather though, and stands out in the fiercest winds. My new favorite thing is to pour hot water over his alfalfa cubes and mix in Omegatin, oils and supplements. I serve it warm, sort of like a fake bran mash. He absolutely loves it.


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## jaydee

I do not envy you building in this weather - but I'm sure I will when its all finished and looking lovely!!!


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## Captain Evil

It was below zero when we started work this morning, but by the noon it climbed to 9 degrees and felt balmy! We were taking off hats and gloves... 

We cut the pilings today and started on the deck. It is 12' x 72' and has to be built before we can start on the timber frame, or else everyone will have to work on the pond. Some pics from the piling massacre... "TIMBER!"


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## NorthernMama

? So you put 20-30 foot pilings in and then cut them off? Why not use shorter pilings? What's the reasoning behind that? And, boy that must have been fun trying to get them in the frozen ground. Or are they actually in the pond so you just had to get through the ice and the ground underneath isn't frozen?


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## Captain Evil

Well, you're right. That was our original plan, but things got complicated fast. Each of those pilings was actually twice that length, and we had to cut them in half with a chainsaw to get them in the pond. We salvaged them from a Coast Guard dive job that my husband did.

The first three were cut and set perfectly in line with each other and about ten feet off the edge of the house. Then the fourth was off by about three inches, and my husband said, "If it's off by a few inches, I don't think it will matter." Then he left to get a replacement chainsaw blade. 

When he returned, the next pilings were wildly out of line: some by as much as two feet! And now, they were pounded four feet into the ground; no way to get them out. The guys said, "You said it didn't matter if they were off!"

So, what to do? I voted for building the deck out beyond the pilings and just let the pilings come up through the deck floor like so many trees. That was rejected. Our friend wanted to let the edge of the deck wander from piling to piling "Organically" making a jagged edge to the deck. But in the end, we decided to cut the pilings off at deck height, build the deck out just past the farthest piling, and then mount the cut off ends on the edge of the deck like railings. So, that is what we are hoping to do. WAY more complicated and less logical than if they had been set correctly in the beginning, but...

I think it will be okay.


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## NorthernMama

Well, it will just HAVE to be okay, won't it? Really though, even 3 inches is a lot to be out. One measurement out means you have to compensate for it again and again. But those other guys, putting them in even more out of whack is pretty sad. Why to never leave friendly helpers unattended!


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## Captain Evil

Does this look, uh, kind of sketchy to anyone....










or is it just me? :shock:


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## Shropshirerosie

Looks like an accurately measured, perfectly planned, compliant with all the health and safety regulations, precise architecturally designed process to me


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## NorthernMama

Looks fine to me... mind you, the first master bedroom that MDH and I had was created by cutting a doorway through a wall (pick a wall, any wall) with a chain saw... ya.. BTDT.


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## Captain Evil

Oh jeez! I can totally picture that! Rhunnn-unnn-unnn..... We've are on our fifth chainsaw with this project.


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## NorthernMama

That's because you're using electric saws. Yich. Wouldn't catch me using one of those for anything. Go and get a proper Stihl.


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## Captain Evil

NorthernMama said:


> That's because you're using electric saws. Yich. Wouldn't catch me using one of those for anything. Go and get a proper Stihl.


I hear what you are saying... but we burnt through two Stihl already (going to pick up one from repairs tomorrow). They work great, but that little electric Homelife or whatever it was... it is now also toast... worked with greater aggression and accuracy. So, we got an electric Husquevarna, which finished up the job quite well. We now have the pilings installed, and over half of the dock installed. Here are some pics...

Hoisting the pilings








The pilings in place








Adding the cedar decking








Some cattails in the pond








Oh, and still no $$$ or word from Banker "A"!


----------



## cjaccardi

love that deck


----------



## NorthernMama

Well, I don't know what you have for saws, or how they are being used, but a good heavy Stihl should last a non-logger for years. Even a full-time logger will keep a Stihl for a year or so, as long as it doesn't get run over by a skidder  There is no way you should be burning through proper saws like that.

I see some very relaxing days on the deck coming  Ah...

Banker A is a monkey. And that's my professional opinion.


----------



## cjaccardi

seriously the craziest story I have heard yet .. not sure if that was the greatest idea. Would have been better to fix as you could.


----------



## Darrin

NorthernMama said:


> Well, I don't know what you have for saws, or how they are being used, but a good heavy Stihl should last a non-logger for years. Even a full-time logger will keep a Stihl for a year or so, as long as it doesn't get run over by a skidder  There is no way you should be burning through proper saws like that.
> 
> I see some very relaxing days on the deck coming  Ah...
> 
> Banker A is a monkey. And that's my professional opinion.


There is one reason actually, using gas with ethanol in it.


----------



## jaydee

This is so interesting to follow
I think maybe the guy standing on the wobbly looking block with a chainsaw did his training on the same 'Don't Follow any Health & safety Rules' online College as my husband!!!


----------



## Captain Evil

jaydee said:


> This is so interesting to follow
> I think maybe the guy standing on the wobbly looking block with a chainsaw did his training on the same 'Don't Follow any Health & safety Rules' online College as my husband!!!


So true!
I should have entitled that photo. "The real reason women live longer than men."


----------



## Zexious

New to this little thread xD

Those are... really quite the pics xD


----------



## Captain Evil

Here is me with my new hammer! I have not hit my finger with it once! I am now a deck-building ANIMAL!


----------



## Darrin

Captain Evil said:


> Here is me with my new hammer! I have not hit my finger with it once! I am now a deck-building ANIMAL!
> 
> View attachment 370497


Let me guess, 5 minutes after posting this you smashed your finger because you bragged you hadn't yet.


----------



## Captain Evil

Darrin said:


> Let me guess, 5 minutes after posting this you smashed your finger because you bragged you hadn't yet.


Darrin, I think you cursed me! I did hit my finger, but just a glancing blow... barely hurt at all!

First, we figured out why we are burning out so many chainsaws. Our timbers are not oak, they are made of a wood called "Green Heart" which is twice as dense as oak. It is so heavy, it sinks in water. The torque is so strong, that when they are first cut the trees will often explode, sending shards of wood through ceilings and walls. The harvesters will wrap the trees in chains before cutting them to contain them. We got these pilings for free from a dive job my husband did for the coast guard.

These are the pilings when we got them.
View attachment 376266


Since the timbers have been delayed and delayed due mostly to weather, we just kept building the deck. We added a lower 12' x 24' dingy dock, and then we got a fantastic deal on an arched aluminum bridge. 

Here's the rig we used to install more pilings in the pond for the dingy dock and dive stairs. It weighed 9, 500 pounds.

View attachment 376282


Oops!

View attachment 376290


And everything in, including our new bridge!

View attachment 376298


We think it is wicked cool, but Ahab remained unimpressed.









The timbers for the house finally arrived yesterday, so maybe we can stop building stuff on the pond, and get to work for real!

Meanwhile, no money from Banker A, and we are just about broke. I called him AGAIN yesterday, and he said, "Great! Call me Monday!"

So we shall see.


----------



## jaydee

Don't know why but I'm not able to link to your attachments - 
Banker A sounds like a real PITA - I wonder how these people sleep at night


----------



## Zexious

Smashing fingers/toes is the worst! Ouch Dx

Ahab is just a doll. Look at his little legs xD I love it.


----------



## NorthernMama

Your pics aren't working, except for the last one.


----------



## Hidalgo13

Subbing! The construction is looking good so far! Hopefully the bank will answer soon, but it all does seem so sketchy... I don't know I've never heard of such a wishy washy banker. 

I am sure things will turn out well in the end though. Keep up the good work!


----------



## Captain Evil

Sorry about the non-working pictures... I am trying them again, but am leaving in the original post, so that they will (hopefully) make sense. 


First, we figured out why we are burning out so many chainsaws. Our timbers are not oak, they are made of a wood called "Green Heart" which is twice as dense as oak. It is so heavy, it sinks in water. The torque is so strong, that when they are first cut the trees will often explode, sending shards of wood through ceilings and walls. The harvesters will wrap the trees in chains before cutting them to contain them. We got these pilings for free from a dive job my husband did for the coast guard.

These are the pilings when we got them.









Since the timbers have been delayed and delayed due mostly to weather, we just kept building the deck. We added a lower 12' x 24' dingy dock, and then we got a fantastic deal on an arched aluminum bridge. 

Here's the rig we used to install more pilings in the pond for the dingy dock and dive stairs. It weighed 9, 500 pounds.









Oops!









And everything in, including our new bridge!









Since Ahab's picture worked, I am substituting a new one of him...

















The timbers for the house finally arrived yesterday, so maybe we can stop building stuff on the pond, and get to work for real!

Update: Holy smokes don't we have a lot of wood! We had no place to put it all in our dooryard, so we had to get our next door neighbor in to bulldoze snow around, and also we have spent the last two or three days shoveling, shoveling, shoveling! No joke, I have lost 27.1 pounds since January. Not that that is a bad thing...


----------



## CLaPorte432

Ahab is just a doll...but...what is he? Besides half water-buffalo. :shock:
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Captain Evil

CLaPorte432 said:


> Ahab is just a doll...but...what is he? Besides half water-buffalo. :shock:
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Most people don't get the water-buffalo right off. He is Percheron and water-buffalo, with just a tinge of moose thrown in there somewhere. He is cute, isn't he? In his own, stuffed-animal, feed me, scratch me, love me, but don't even think about riding me, kind of way.


----------



## Zexious

^ xD The ones with personalities are the best 

How long until all this construction is finished?


----------



## CLaPorte432

Captain Evil said:


> Most people don't get the water-buffalo right off. He is Percheron and water-buffalo, with just a tinge of moose thrown in there somewhere. He is cute, isn't he? In his own, stuffed-animal, feed me, scratch me, love me, but don't even think about riding me, kind of way.


Hahaha. He is adorable. He looks so hugable. I just wanna squeeze him!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## NorthernMama

I love your bridge!


----------



## jaydee

That bridge is amazing
Envy is creeping in!!!


----------



## Captain Evil

Thanks! We are really excited about the bridge too; it was an unexpected find. The arch makes it possible to skate around the pond without stopping and turning around. We are hoping to build a Tiki hut on the island one day. 

The part that cracks me up is that our pond and the island are really tiny; the island is 50' x 60' and it is only 34' to the island at the narrowest, and about 60' at it's widest, and only 8' deep at the deepest. But it is so full of wildlife; it absolutely amazes me.


----------



## Captain Evil

So... a progress update... 

We have an appointment with the banker on Wednesday... if he gives us another gel pen, I may have to insert it forcefully into his closest orifice. We really have to pay for windows and doors.

Saturday and Sunday we cleared up more snow... mountains of snow... and moved all of the interior wood (ceilings, walls, and loft floors) into the shop. There were eleven lifts of pine & spruce, and my ribs are bruised and sore. 









Today we started on the sills and began to set up the timber frame. This is how far we got.









Tomorrow we hope to get some floor joists up for the second floor -- just a couple of lofts, really; one for storage, one for utilities, and then one each for a 'man cave' and a 'woman skyroom'. I want to put an old, headed for the junkyard, baby grand piano up there, but install an electronic keyboard in it, so that it looks awesome, but I can play it using earphones and never have to get it tuned.


----------



## Captain Evil

The banker gave us gel pens! Half a dozen anyway, and although they are very nice gel pens, I thought my husband was gonna blow... we signed about a hundred documents, and then left. Supposedly we will have access to some money on Friday. There are a ton of strings attached, and every time we spend a dime, we have to get about a million signatures on it. The good banker, Banker "B", just gave us a wad of money and said, "Go have fun, and please pay me back some day." 

We spent a ton of our own business money on building the house so far, and it is going to take some creative financial finagling to replace that money in order to restart the business this spring. 

Some pictures from today:









And Ahab waiting for his supper...


----------



## Captain Evil

6:30 in the morning, negative 7 degrees F, and we saw a guy at the hardware store in a *T-SHIRT* buying a can of paint!! What the...!! I have six layers on top, three on the bottom, double socks with foot warmers, hat, gloves with handwarmers, turtle fur around my neck... and I'm still a bit chilly. And how is he gonna paint in this temperature anyway?

But, here is a pic of our house from the island side as of this evening:









and from the front:









There is a small front porch with two doors; one to the office, which will have a bright red round-top door with a porthole, and the other one leads to the house. You are looking at the outside of the inside walls. Tomorrow all that pine will be covered 4" of blue insulation, then some sheathing, and then the exterior walls. Those white tubes are stink pipes for the dog's toilets. We are installing two tiny 10" tall kiddie toilets in the back hall/dog room as dog water bowls. That way, their water will be cold and always fresh. No peeing allowed in those toilets. Here is one of the dogs whose copious quantities of drool led us to install these toilets:







.


----------



## jaydee

I'm loving the doggie drinking bowl idea


----------



## Tack Collector

Any progress with the bankers? I haven't read any news headlines about attackers wielding gel pens. LOL


----------



## Captain Evil

Tack Collector said:


> Any progress with the bankers? I haven't read any news headlines about attackers wielding gel pens. LOL


Yeah, we got the money, and boy does it go fast! We have already blown through Banker #2's bucks, and are chipping away at Banker #1's money pretty fast. I hate that he wants all this paperwork to get it; it seems like forty-five pieces of paper are required for each expenditure. I don't like keeping track of the money, I just like to spend it!

I haven't gotten any recent pictures, but we have the whole house boxed in, and one layer of sheathing and insulation on. It looks really cool!


----------



## Shropshirerosie

Captain Evil said:


> I haven't gotten any recent pictures, but we have the whole house boxed in, and one layer of sheathing and insulation on. It looks really cool!


So you currently have a gift wrapped house - lovely! You are doing fabulously with this project. I demand more pictures!


----------



## Hidalgo13

> You are doing fabulously with this project. I demand more pictures!


I agree! Pictures are a must now that the housing is starting to wrap up into it's final stages!


----------



## Captain Evil

Shropshirerosie said:


> So you currently have a gift wrapped house - lovely! You are doing fabulously with this project. I demand more pictures!


I love the thought of a gift-wrapped house! We are so far from done, though, and time is running out. Starting in April we have to start spending time working on the boat, and in May it will intensify. I really want to have an occupancy certificate by then, but it is unlikely. Sounds like we will be living on the boat all summer, which is pretty tough to do. 

But anyway, this is where we are now. It doesn't look like much because the cut station is in the way, but these are 10' pilings flanking the double doors that lead onto the deck: now known as "the Wharf."









This is looking at the kitchen wall where the cabinets will go, and the "Man-Cave" upstairs. Behing it is the half-built wall leading to the utility room and then the attic.









And this is the front of the house, after we replaced all the wrap and insulation that the storm took off.










And this is Ahab's nose, for no other reason than that it is quite impressive.


----------



## Glenknock

brilliant i'm loving the pic's and update's - subbing


----------



## CLaPorte432

Wow, it is looking incredible! What is the outside siding going to look like? 

Horsey-nosey. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Foxtail Ranch

Nice!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## RedNeckRosie

Kudos! You have come a LONG way.


----------



## Maple

Where have I been??? How could I possibly have missed out on this thread for so long?! AMAZING. Simply Amazing. I now need to sub because this is far better to follow than any TV show!


----------



## Shropshirerosie

It is looking fantastic - you have made so much progress from some posts in the ground!

And spring IS on it's way, the days are lengthening and we are soon all going to be rewarded for our patience by summer. 

You're living on a boat for the summer? How did I miss this significant part of the plan?! I trust Ahab will not be joining you.


----------



## Captain Evil

Shropshirerosie said:


> You're living on a boat for the summer? How did I miss this significant part of the plan?! I trust Ahab will not be joining you.


Yeah, my husband is a commercial diver, scallop diver, and marine biologist, so we have this big boat with all his gear and compressors on it --- as well as the 80" flat-screen TV. It doesn't have any actual living quarters on it as it is a work boat, but we often use an air mattress on the floor of the office if we have an extended job. It also has a microwave, a mini-fridge, a coffee-maker, and a hot-tub made out of a cow water trough. That's to warm up frozen divers...

But that is all, really, so when we thought we were gonna have to live on the boat this winter, I was not too excited. But, some awesome friends let us stay in their vacant cottage for the winter (YEA!!) but we have to be out sometime in mid-April (BOO!!). So then, it will be on to the boat, since I don't think the house will be done by then.

I tried to talk my husband into moving to England and living on a canal barge. That way, he could live on a boat (his dream) and I could get a Welsh cob for riding, and use Ahab to pull the barge around. If only we could figure out how to make a living doing that.


----------



## Shropshirerosie

_Yeah, my husband is a commercial diver, scallop diver, and marine biologist_

Your life is soooo much more interesting than mine! You do realise that you should be the next major character in a major TV series don't you? Could you by any chance be 

1 a detective
2 a surgeon

Or

3 psychotic split personality avenger of the innocent.

Together with your partly-built house, your interesting and (we presume) sexy husband, and your love of fluffy Ahab you will make a great series.

When you are making millions writing the scripts for your televised life story you will be able to afford the Canal Boat lifestyle.


----------



## Captain Evil

Our lights came! A lot of the stuff in our house is salvaged; some of it free, like all of the pilings, and some wasn't, like the lights and interior doors. The lights came off of big tankers and decommissioned military vessels. so, here they are...

















...and here is a close-up of part of one of the big lights. The biggest one is about three feet tall!


----------



## HollyBubbles

Ok I have to admit here, I looked at the photos before I read the post you have just put up CE, and I sat here wondering why you had fancy beakers and a meth lab set up.. Then I read the post :lol: (It's been a long day)


----------



## Tack Collector

Interesting lights. I was wondering where you were living while all this was going on, or _not_ going on, depending on the bank. LOL


----------



## Captain Evil

Tack Collector said:


> Interesting lights. I was wondering where you were living while all this was going on, or _not_ going on, depending on the bank. LOL


Yeah, they're, uh, different, that's for sure. The room they are in isn't where we are staying: that is part of the new house we're building. The room the lights are in is the loft/attic, on the side near the barn, over the bedroom/laundry room/dog room. 

Then comes the "Engine Room;" an eight by 24 foot room that houses the boiler and stuff and which is over the two bathrooms; then the "Man Cave" 16x24 loft which is over the kitchen; then it is open to the living room below, and then is my little loft area: 12x24, over the office below.

So the house is basically a glorified double-wide, with some loft areas on top. We were living on the boat, but they shut down the showers and toilets in the marina, so a friend is letting us stay in their rental. We have two more weeks until we have to leave, and then... back to the boat, I think.


----------



## Captain Evil

HollyBubbles said:


> Ok I have to admit here, I looked at the photos before I read the post you have just put up CE, and I sat here wondering why you had fancy beakers and a meth lab set up.. Then I read the post :lol: (It's been a long day)


Oh, man. If that were the case, we wouldn't have to worry about the bank!


----------



## Captain Evil

Things are crazy here; we've been building like madmen. It's not just me, my husband and one friend anymore; another friend who owns a building company doesn't have enough work for all his guys, so he lent us two of his youngest, most inexperienced workers at cost, and they are fantastic! Smart, hard workers, fun to be around, and they really like the house design. We've hired them to build all of our cabinets. 

We also have another friend helping; he's retired from the military, just went through a painful and unexpected divorce, and heard on the radio that men have a 147% greater chance than women have of dying within the first six months after a divorce, so he just wants to keep busy, survive his six months, and have some fun. 

BUT last Friday, he went and fell off of a lift of staging and broke his back. No joke, it really happened. Called 911, the ambulance was there in a flash, and he's gonna be okay. He sheared off part of a vertebrae, and chipped some other stuff, and all the pieces kind of tumbled down and got lodged lower on his spine. They can't operate, but they say in a few months everything will fuse back together, and he will be able to run, swim, dive; whatever he used to do he will be able to do again.

Here are some fairly current pictures of the upstairs lofts...

This is looking from my loft over the living room and into my husband's loft and the "Engine Room" beyond.









Here is the "Engine Room" itself, where the water heaters and radiant floor heater are.









And here are the little midget doors on either side of the room. They are so short! I love 'em. They came off of some old boats.


----------



## CLaPorte432

This place is going to be incredible! I love it!!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## jaydee

I just love how that loft area looks - sort of like a Hobbit House


----------



## Captain Evil

Thanks, CLaPorte432... I think it's gonna be cool too. As Jaydee said, sort of like a Hobbit House. 

I don't really want to say this, because I want Shropshirerosie to continue to think that my husband is sexy, but the truth is, we are both a bit like hobbits ourselves. The doors into the engine Room are both four foot something tall, so we raised them up just a bit off the ground. That way, we don't have to duck to go in, but all the other people who visit the house have to duck... it's been amusing us. The doors downstairs will be taller...

The way we are building the house is called, around here anyway, "Inside out building" as all the inside walls were built first, then layers of wrap, insulation, more wrap, and then the siding; same with the roof: it is the last layer to be added. So we have been adding the final layers of wrap these last two days, and as we peel the backing off of the wrap, often the wind will grab it and toss it around before we can catch it and stuff it in the trash.

These last few days have been really windy (30 mph gusts all day long!) and so the papers really have been flying. Today some of them got away and flew up and over the top of Ahab's barn and down into his paddock. Man! He was sure they were ghosts! He has never been so pretty: neck arched, all snorts and blows, heavy mane tossing in the wind and standing all alert. Then I caught the ghosts, and he transformed back into a plow horse eating his hay.


----------



## Captain Evil

****. I changed the language on my new iPhone to Russian, and now I can't figure out how to change it back...


----------



## Shropshirerosie

Guess you'll just have to find yourself a mysterious Russian spy to help you with that one.


Do you have any secret entrances in your Hobbit House? You know the sort - where you flip up a porthole window and slide down a glass tube to the bottom of your pond, landing in the submarine/landing craft that you keep down there for emergencies.


----------



## HollyBubbles

Google translate your way through your phone lol, might be difficult but unless you want to take it to your phone company I don't know any other way 

And I'm mentally sending well wishes to your friend!!! I can't believe he had such a horrible accident! Poor guy, I hope he recovers well and is in good hands while doing so


----------



## Darrin

Captain Evil said:


> ****. I changed the language on my new iPhone to Russian, and now I can't figure out how to change it back...


I used to work for a Japanese equipment manufacturer. Occasionally the displays would be accidentally switched to Japanese so we had to get them to send us a procedure with the Japanese characters that we had to select to get it back to English. But of a pain but also amusing.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## barrelbeginner

SUBBING> btw.. I am moving in.. This is going to look AMAZING when finished!!


----------



## ryster2000

I think this would be a great TV show! It could replace duck dynasty- and honey boo boo, and any of the other stupid fake ******* shows out there!

Banker A is well, an A. 

Oh, and another thing you could be to make your TV show, while playing on a previous post- you could also be a normal person with one catch: you make meth as a 'side thing' haha lol!

Keep posting!


----------



## aerie

Just read through this! Subbing to see your amazing house


----------



## Captain Evil

So, a quick update... 

We decided to use the slab itself as our floor, so yesterday and today a pile of guys came by to grind, polish, stain, seal and wax it. Hopefully tomorrow will be their last day, as nobody can go into the house until they are done. 

We are also having our front door made by a local artisan, who also happens to be blind. The door is about 3 inches thick, and has a massive 50 pound, 20 inch across porthole in it. Here is a picture of the half-finished door, along with the guy who is making it and his little three-legged dog, Ruthie. It will be painted scarlet red on the outside, and kept oiled mahogany on the inside. The door, that is, not the artisan. We are gonna use a huge 15" bronze boat cleat for a door handle...









Our friend who broke his back is doing very well, and has been by a few times just to say hi. All the other people who were helping have been called back to their real jobs, so it's just the two of us.... Sob!!


----------



## Shropshirerosie

So your slab/floor is concrete?

I have seen a lot of fabulously stylish concrete floors - very nice indeed.


----------



## jaydee

That door looks amazing
My house is feeling very dull and boring after seeing what you're doing there


----------



## Maple

This is beyond amazing. I'm looking forward to our invite for the house warming party.


----------



## Darrin

Love the door, also love the story of a blind craftsman with a 3 legged dog making it.


----------



## Captain Evil

So, another little update. Today we painted... and painted... staining the outside boards for the house, and we have a long way to go. 

On Friday - my birthday - we invited everyone we knew to come over for a present-less, food-less party on the wharf. The floors had just been finished and were too delicate to be walked on, but we threw down some protective blankets, and hoped for the best. We had no idea if anyone would even come, but pretty much everyone came! There must have been sixty or seventy people dropping in and staying or just staying to hay a quick hello. Tons of food arrived, including two birthday cakes, home made ice cream, crackers, cheese, fruit, bootleg rum, wine, vegetable platters, four dozen homemade bagels with goat cheese... 

Even though the house is small, with the wharf, dinghy dock, bridge and island, there was tons of room for all kinds of activities. We started a bonfire on the island, my husband gave rides around the pond in our inflatable, Bertha, another group of people were shooting potatoes across the pond using a three-person slingshot, and everyone got house tours. It was really wicked fun!

Here is an updated photo from just as people started to arrive, and we hadn't finished cleaning lumber off the Wharf.









You can see the barn in the distance. Ahab had never seen a boat before, and so he got some well-needed exercise. That horse can MOVE when he wants to!


----------



## Shropshirerosie

Happy Birthday!

Your home is starting to look totally and absolutely stunning. You are I think the envy of this forum.


----------



## CLaPorte432

...more pictures please!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## caseymyhorserocks

You have an inflatable named Bertha? Lol!

Gorgeous house, I'm jealous!


----------



## Captain Evil

Kind of a frustrating day for house building today. 

We started off at 6:00, and were doing great, but then got a call from a local barge. They were hauling up some granite mooring stones to check the staples and chains, but two chains in a row broke, rendering two of the five very costly stones inaccessible and possibly irretrievable. The stones had not been hauled up for inspection in a few years, and were so buried in the mud that they could not be located with a fathom meter. They needed a diver to find them, so off we went. 

One 3000 PSI tank of 36% nitrox, two hours of diving, and both lost stones were found and had new chains attached and the other three stones had new chains installed also, so they could be hauled without risk of loss. Here are a few pics...


DH with barge in background..








Boatyard where we were..








a loon...








An old Eastern rig with boat stands..








Hopefully we will get more done tomorrow. Time is running out!


----------



## Foxtail Ranch

Awesome developments, Evil!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## NorthernMama

OK, I really have to ask -- why do so many of your photos look curved?


----------



## Captain Evil

NorthernMama said:


> OK, I really have to ask -- why do so many of your photos look curved?


NorthernMama, it's the lens I use. I think it is a 10mm lens, and I use it mostly because it is my smallest, lightest lens, and it can get the whole house or boat or whatever in the frame. 

My favorite lens is a 105mm... oh I love it... and when I am shooting just for myself, I haul it out. But to shoot a boat or something, you have to be really far away. 

105mm from about 4' away








On our boat, I mostly use a 300mm if I am shooting seals or birds, but switch back to the curly 10mm for shooting inside the boat; otherwise I have to be too far away from the action to do my job.

300mm lens from really really far away






















...and you've seen lots of curly ones...


----------



## NorthernMama

Wow. Phenomenal pics!


----------



## squirrelfood

Is the curved one a fish-eye lens?


----------



## Captain Evil

squirrelfood said:


> Is the curved one a fish-eye lens?


Yes, I just checked cause I couldn't remember... it's this: 
* Tokina 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 AT-X 107 AF DX Fisheye Lens for Canon*

...although I feel like a traitor, since I have a Nikon. It's a cool lens.


----------



## Captain Evil

Well, it has been quite a while since I've updated this post. I keep waiting until the house looks better, but not much is changing. The roof guy dropped off materials three weeks ago, and then vanished, and, at this point, we are pretty much out of time and definitely out of money. We have no kitchen counters or appliances installed yet, but have one shower, one bed, two bathroom sinks, and four flushing toilets (two for us, two for the dogs) so it sounds like home to us. So, we have to stop building now and get back to our real jobs...

fixing moorings








salvage work...








digging clams......








..and watching birds & sea creatures.






















...sad, but somebody has to do it!


----------



## jaydee

Watching birds and sea creatures - you poor thing, what a dreadful chore!!!!!


----------



## bitinsane

LOL that seal looks like he did something he wasn't supposed to do! and how come I'm just now finding this thread!? The house looks amazing so far!! Can't wait to see the completed product!


----------



## Foxtail Ranch

Sounds like you have the essentials, and the rest is just gravy...


----------



## Glenknock

Anymore pic's ? Looks fanastic so far i'm well jel lol


----------



## squirrelfood

bitinsane said:


> LOL that seal looks like he did something he wasn't supposed to do! and how come I'm just now finding this thread!? The house looks amazing so far!! Can't wait to see the completed product!



Were there bubbles in the water?


----------



## Captain Evil

squirrelfood said:


> Were there bubbles in the water?


Hah hah! 

Well, the house is still quite undone, and we are out of time and out of money. We will have more time in the fall, but more money .... back to our bankers, A and B. Banker B says we have Banker A over a barrel, and that A will have to cough up some more cash, but it is all very uncertain. We did go over budget a bit...

Anyway, we finally got our kitchen table... sort of... Here it is:









It is the 40' long oaken keel of our old boat, which was destroyed by a storm in 2008. It washed ashore on an uninhabited island, and has been lodged in the rockweed ever since. We got our inflatable, Bertha going, and set out to retrieve it. We tied boat fenders onto it to help float it.









And here it is on the beach, waiting to be picked up by a boom truck.









We want to cut it in eight foot sections and put two of them together and polyeurethane (spelling?) it. Then we will put it on some boat stands for legs.

We are technically living on the boat, but in reality, we are in the house, just quietly. We were using an inflatable bed, but one of the dogs popped it one night, and it started leaking. We had to get up several times a night and pump it back up again. Since my DH is heavier than I am, his side of the bed kept going down, and he would wind up on the concrete, while my side went way up in the air. Then, our biggest Newfoundland jumped on the bed in the middle and catapulted me up into the air and over to land on top of my poor husband, who was already flat on the concrete floor. So, we built a bed, and with a bed, a shower, two bathroom sinks, and four toilets (one in each bathroom, and two for the dogs water bowls) we are pretty much okay. I do wish we had a stove...


----------



## Maple

Captain Evil said:


> We are technically living on the boat, but in reality, we are in the house, just quietly. We were using an inflatable bed, but one of the dogs popped it one night, and it started leaking. We had to get up several times a night and pump it back up again. Since my DH is heavier than I am, his side of the bed kept going down, and he would wind up on the concrete, while my side went way up in the air. Then, our biggest Newfoundland jumped on the bed in the middle and catapulted me up into the air and over to land on top of my poor husband, who was already flat on the concrete floor. So, we built a bed, and with a bed, a shower, two bathroom sinks, and four toilets (one in each bathroom, and two for the dogs water bowls) we are pretty much okay. I do wish we had a stove...


 
OMG I just laughed my **** off at the mental images I'm having of this! We moved into our house when we had a kitchen, 1 toilet, 1 shower and we used a dreaded inflatable bed as well! Not such a clever idea when one has pets  Like yourself, every night was a struggle and DH always ended up closest to the ground. Although, he would sleep through a hurricane, so it was up to myself to pump the bed back up since a pin would wake me! 

I'm loving the pics and stories, my jealousy levels are at a serious high :lol:


----------



## jaydee

I love where you live, I'm so jealous. I need to add it to my wishlist I think along with Cork (Ireland) & two parts of France!!


----------



## Captain Evil

jaydee said:


> I love where you live, I'm so jealous. I need to add it to my wishlist I think along with Cork (Ireland) & two parts of France!!


Add Wales to the list, and I'm right with you! Incredible places and amazing people, all. 

I just wanted to add a bit about our friend who broke his back by falling off the staging. We just went on a dive and he came along...

Here is our boat captain; a bit long in the tooth, but experienced....









...and here is our friend, stepping into the water to go diving in the cold North Atlantic. He says he is 100%, but we think he is more like 99% back to normal.









Really good to see him back!


----------



## jaydee

So glad that your friend is recovering so well
How could I have missed Wales off my list - I'm best part welsh by ancestry though I've never lived there myself!!!


----------



## Spanish Rider

> I love where you live, I'm so jealous.


 
See? Now do you understand why I leave Spain each year to summer in Maine?

Captain Evil, just came across this thread. I have loved reading about your house adventure. Whereabouts are you? We summer in the Kennebec county lake region (think _On Golden Pond_) at a cottage that's been in the family for more than 100 years and 6 generations. Maine is definitely a special place...


----------



## rbarlo32

For some reason I totally didn't think you had Puffins in America, love all the photos btw


----------



## Captain Evil

This is a ancient thread, I know, but I thought someone might be curious to know how the house is coming along... well, for the most part, it's not. 

Summer and tourists wait for no one, and once we started running the boat in may we were on it pretty much from dawn til dark every day. There was some work that happened while we were away, but most of that had to be undone and re-done. Frustrating!

But now that fall has arrived in all of it's glory, our plan was to build, build, build. Fate, however, had other ideas, and previous commitments and unexpected work chucked a monkey wrench into our carefully laid plans.

First, we had a pile of little boat trips that people asked us to do. We said no to most of the ones that paid, but it is really hard to turn down a charity trip or excursions for favors. So there were some of those, and there will be more.

Then we HAD to take our nephews to the Pirate Festival in Eastport: one of our very favorite activities and a family tradition.

Next came a diving trip to Canada, planned and paid for the previous year, with some underwater photographers. That was also wicked fun, even though there were two diving accidents which could/should have been fatal, but which, thankfully, were not. One of the aspects of diving which my husband loves is that you rarely get badly hurt diving. Either you survive unscathed, or you die. Pretty simple.

Finally, October has seen three boat wrecks that have impacted us. the first wreck was a big barge (30x 85') that sank in 65-80' of murky North Atlantic. We were hired the day it went down to salvage it, and we spent two solid days preparing our boat and organizing our backup/safety divers, and then, due to complications, inevitable in such an enormous undertaking, we got bumped off the job. The barge is still on the bottom (Evil laugh). No, really, that is a huge job, and I am not surprised they haven't done it yet. It sounds as if the complications are just beginning with that one...

Then a 55' wooden fishing tour boat popped a plank and partially sank before crashing into the rocks here on the coast. That is a land salvage job and definitely not our area, but the insurance adjuster could not find anyone who would do it. So, they needed a salvage crew and we needed a kitchen counter, so we are deep in the middle of that job. 

Finally, a third boat, a research/fundraising boat, hit a ledge and is our of commission for a good long while. the boat was already scheduled to do a pile of trips, so we are probably going to take over some of those, although not all of them. 

Here are some pictures of the boat wreck we are currently involved in: 








The boat before we were involved.. I blacked the name of the boat.








This is a section of Debris Field #1 
There were 7 Debris Fields








Part of Debris Field #6...








...and a Huge Rubber Duck at the landfill where we take the debris. It was not there on our subsequent trips.


----------



## NorthernMama

Thanks for the update. Sad to say, I had actually forgotten about this thread. 

Yes, you need time and money for house building - seems like either there is time or money, but never both. 

How big was the huge rubber duck? The rubber duck races are very popular in Canada and sometimes a big duck is put in to mark the event, but the big ones aren't supposed to get away! LOL


----------



## Captain Evil

The Rubber duck was about a foot tall... not sure what that is in Canadian!


----------



## NorthernMama

Yup, sounds like he was migrating alright.


----------



## RegalCharm

Those life rafts still good? What happens to them?

what an interesting job you are in.


----------



## Cielo Notturno

I just finished reading all of it! Your new house is very beautiful, and your job does sound interesting  please keep updating, it's fascinating.

Are the newfoundlands trained for water rescue?


----------



## jaydee

I was wondering how you were getting on - sorry you've made no real progress on the house but that's how it goes sometimes - not that I have any patience at all and expect everything to be done 'yesterday'!!


----------



## NorthernMama

I think we do need more recent pics of the house though please. Even though it hasn't moved along as quickly as you wanted it to, I'm sure it's changed since April. At least something, right? You are living in it now right? You're not going to try to spend the winter on the boat. Right? RIGHT?


----------



## Captain Evil

NorthernMama said:


> Yup, sounds like he was migrating alright.


 Ha ha ha! 

Regal Charm, those life rafts were in pretty good shape. The netting and ropes that go in the center were ruined, but those rafts are really pricey! The owner wanted them, the radar stand, and a few other things. He said he was going to sent some of his crew over to help retrieve them, but his crew, a young guy, came for about four hours, and then left. 

The first day he was supposed to come help he simply never showed up. The next day he was supposed to get there at 9:00 and stay until 6:00. Well, he showed up at 11:00. Then he had to have lunch, then he got pooped and took a couple of breaks, then he had to have some cigarette breaks, and then, of course, he had to call his girlfriend a few times. He saw another boat go by and had to call them to joke about the sunken boat, then he called them to see if they made it into harbor, and finally he left at 3:00, saying that the crew on that boat needed a lift. he never returned.

We debated keeping them ourselves, but that type of liferaft is going to be outdated next year. Dumping money into trying to repair them... just not worth it. I thought they would look cool in the garden, but in the end we just carted thhem off to the dump.

We have all of the debris fields cleaned up, as of today. Almost. We have been working every day for over two weeks, and all of the debris fields are cleaned up, except for some heavy stuff in Debris Field #1..... like the Detroit engine. :shock:


----------



## RegalCharm

the small orange ones I am thinking could be made into bunk beds.
be a nice novelty item for a seafaring family.


----------



## Captain Evil

So... as usual, life is insane around here. The salvage job is finished: should be big money, which is good, because now our Newfie tore her cruciate ligament.  Evaluation expenses to date have been abut $500.00, and we are heading for a bone operation which has an estimated $4,000.00 price tag attached. Please, I need another boat to sink... (not really of course!) 

Ironically, while we were salvaging the big boat, our two small skiffs sank in our pond. My DH (Dear Husband? Is that what that means?) thinks it is SO funny! The little square is a dog bed that blew off the porch in June and has been floating around the pond since then. I think that's pretty funny! 









Although we haven't done much, if anything, on the house, here are some pics of where we are now.

Cabinets... 









These run the length of one wall, and still need brass cleat handles, sinks, and the countertop. We were going to go with porcelain sinks and plywood countertops, but when we realized how long this salvage job was going to be, we decided to go with dark gray- almost black- granite. Here are the two sinks made of the same granite:









...and another view of the kitchen wall...









So now that one of my dogs has to be operated on, I will be home much of the time tending her, while my husband keeps diving... we'll see what happens!


----------



## Golden Horse

I have just sat and read the whole thread, funny how we keep missing little gems, this is hilarious, in the writing, if not in the living of it, you really should write a book and cover the costs from your sales, the great pics, your wonderful sense of humor and an incredible story should make it a money maker.


----------



## jaydee

I always envy people who have the courage to try bold colours like that - looks amazing. 
I am so boring when it comes to décor.


----------



## Captain Evil

Golden Horse said:


> I have just sat and read the whole thread, funny how we keep missing little gems, this is hilarious, in the writing, if not in the living of it, you really should write a book and cover the costs from your sales, the great pics, your wonderful sense of humor and an incredible story should make it a money maker.


Golden Horse, thank you for your kind words! I really would like to write, but there is no time. Here is what has been keeping us occupied all the tourists left...

Rescuing stranded sea animals (this lumpfish was found trapped and returned unharmed to the sea, despite this rather alarming photo...)









Hosting odd events, like this birthday party... this i was the cake...









a pile of other free events that friends requested.

...a snorkeling party for HS students...







...

..a boat trip 









..and another free boat trip where we saw harbor porpoise & eagles...

















..and then stuff for $$$... but it is supper time, so I've gotta go.


----------



## Captain Evil

We are back at the house, hammer and tongs. Well, I'm also trying to do taxes, but it is so boring! It has just been decided, because of our dog's time consuming injury, that Thanksgiving will be at our house this year.

What???

This is what my house looks like right now...









BUT we got the sinks installed yesterday using chainfalls...









..and we got our stove hooked up today, even though the mice had eaten all of the insulation out of it. The Stove Guru came and looked at it, tested it, and said it was good to go, although we ordered new insulation for it. 

And, we also got the sunken boats out of the pond during a brief moment when it un-froze, and we got the dog-bed out, although my husband had to get into the pond to get it.









Coolest of all, we have two visiting Hooded Mergansers at our pond! This one caught a sunfish.


----------



## zookeeper1991

I have enjoyed hearing about all the progress on your house, and love all the pictures. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!


----------



## Captain Evil

Why I love my husband... this is what he's thankful for.









Happy Thanksgiving!


----------



## Captain Evil

Rats, a double post and I can't delete it... sorry!


----------



## Captain Evil

Well, we got it fairly clean, but then had Thanksgiving at my folks house anyway. 









They are coming on Monday to install the kitchen counter..YEAH! Our biggest problem right now... well, okay, there are a lot of problems, but our concrete floors are too slippery for our Newfoundlands. Our little one tore her cruciad (sp?) ligament; we think because our floors are too slick. so we just ordered some aggregate stuff that you roll on to the floor to reduce the skid. No idea if it will work...


----------



## NBEventer

Beautiful!! Sorry to hear about your dogs injury :-( hopefully the adjustment to the floor helps.

Ive been following the process and its pretty awesome. Im not even that far from you, I want to join you on one of your adventures! Our part of the Atlantic is breath taking.


----------



## jaydee

That winter scene across the water is beautiful
Sorry about the dog - problem with wood flooring - we have the same issue here


----------



## Captain Evil

The kitchen counter is now in, and we are hoping to get the plumbing hooked up sometime today or tomorrow. Unfortunately for the house, scallop season has started, and in this house that tends to be all-consuming. We have already had our annual struggle over whether I will or will not drive the boat and tend my husband while he dives.

I will not. 

It is miles too dangerous; I'll kill him! All alone on the ocean, driving a 55' boat around trying to track his bubbles, track bubbles in waves and rain and sleet and fog and sea smoke; stay close yet not run him over, not get the wheel in any lobster gear or ropes or scallop bag lines, break up the ice which inevitably slides over him... and you also have to keep other boats away, some of which will deliberately try to run him over. And on top of it, I'm a vegetarian who loves scallops, but only alive. 

So, I accompanied him on a morning shore dive; much better. It is harder for him, but much safer and much easier for me.

Here is our new counter:









..and here are some scallops...









He has made some serious money diving for scallops. His normal tender won't go this year, because he made so much money fishing, he wants to take the winter off. The little black dots on the scallop are it's eyes.


----------



## Captain Evil

We are still working hard on the house, but of course, life keeps interfering. My husband went diving off the boat for scallops, but it was not terribly successful. It cost $1800.00 to extent the boat insurance, three hours worth of fuel to get to this year’s legal scallop ground, maybe $200.00 in clean buckets and bits of dive gear, $100.00 plus some scallops to pay the tender, and they made about $600.00 in scallops. 

Normally, one day’s fishing would have paid all those costs. And the boat took a pounding: nothing serious but the forecast was for 0-5 knots of wind and 1-2 foot seas, and it was 20+ knots and 7 foot seas, anyway. So while the boat itself was fine, there was a lot of stuff on the boat, like the coffee pot and the galley drawers, which we did not sufficiently secure for that kind of ocean.

But the guys had fun, so that’s cool. And some of the scallops had pearls! For the rest of the season, though, I think he’s going to go from the shore, catch what he can, and just have fun. The DMR report which was just released says that there are almost no scallops in the open areas anyway. He went again yesterday; here are some pics...

Coming out of the water...








Happy diver...








My husband's dive buddy holding up a massive pearl...








But now... the local tack shop is having a sale with free food, so I'm off!


----------



## Chevaux

I'm curious -- are scallop pearls worth any money like oyster pearls?


----------



## northwesten

Oh a fellow Mainer! *waves*


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## Captain Evil

Chevaux said:


> I'm curious -- are scallop pearls worth any money like oyster pearls?


I wish... but sadly, no.


----------



## Chevaux

Bummer.....


----------



## jaydee

Well you've just opened up a whole new world to me Captain Evil - scallop diving - I didn't realize they went diving for them!!!


----------



## ChitChatChet

Very enjoyable thread, Captain! Thank you!


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## Captain Evil

So, it's been a while mainly because we are doing everything else except work on the house. First came cleaning up the shipwreck which took an entire month, then scallop diving, then taxes and various other dives, and now we have a project called, for the moment, "28".

My diving husband is doing 28 dives of 28 minute duration in 28 degree water (sea water freezes at 28 1/2 degrees, although with the motion of the ocean preventing the formation of ice, it can get down to 26 degrees.) and each dive must be within 28 minutes of our house.

My job: photograph it. He will be using an underwater video system, but editing film takes so incredibly long, we will be relying mostly on photos.

All this is for a 28 minute long presentation on February 28th...

He says that he wants us both to dive on Valentine's Day... we'll see.....


----------



## gunslinger

Burr. Sounds cold to me.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## SueNH

Ack! I don't get in the ocean in Maine in July! Shiver just thinking about it.


----------



## Captain Evil

SueNH said:


> Ack! I don't get in the ocean in Maine in July! Shiver just thinking about it.


Me too!

It is pretty bitter out, that's for sure. Yesterday's dive was actually a snorkel. The air temperature was -3 degrees F. when he got in the water, and -6 degrees F. when he got out, almost an hour later. Each dive is supposed to be 28 minutes long, but he found some tiny waterfalls to explore, and wouldn't come out. It was COLD!! 

Here are some pictures from Day One:

















...and from yesterday, Day Two:

oh, the files are too large. I'll resize them and stick them on the next post.


----------



## Captain Evil

Okay, so from yesterday:

Climbing down the bank into the brook...









... and climbing back out an hour later...









Today he has a dive planned, I'm not sure where, but because the moon is full and because I had a riding lesson scheduled (cancelled due to extreme weather) it will be a night dive. Wish me luck!


----------



## boots

Oh, brr-flippin-rrrr! lol


----------



## zookeeper1991

I can't even imagine being in the ocean in that cold!


----------



## SueNH

My parents live near Bar Harbor. The ocean never warms up north of Cape Cod.
I can't even get knee deep there in the summer.

I don't care what the price of scallops is. Ain't going in. Even in NY where the bay water would sometimes get like bath water we would use this funky little scallop net.


----------



## Captain Evil

Well, I survived, as did the divers. Yes, two other divers were crazy enough to join my husband on his night dive.

0° weather but no wind chill, 31° salt water, full moon, and some stars. The divers tried to look scary to match the full moon motif; not sure whether or not they succeeded.

Posing with a Mussel Truck. 









Two of the divers emerging from the murky depths...









...and my husband with an animal ( I hope) bone that he found down on the bottom of the ocean: he felt that this find fit nicely with the scary full-moon theme.









Where he will get in the water tomorrow, I have no idea. I just hope it is not so cold!


----------



## Horseychick87

I love this thread! I can't believe it took me so long to find it.
I'm very impressed with the house Captain Evil.


----------



## Captain Evil

Horseychick87 said:


> I love this thread! I can't believe it took me so long to find it.
> I'm very impressed with the house Captain Evil.


Hey, thanks!


----------



## Captain Evil

We are abut to leave for today's dive, which will be another snorkel. My husband wants to try a place which he calls "The Hot Tub". It's going to be challenging, as he has to crawl out to it over some very thin ice. 

I'm not sure if the site is salt water or brackish water, but it is tidal. We'll see how it goes...


----------



## jaydee

You husband needs one of those 'You don't have to be mad to do this but it helps' stickers on his jacket
I avoid swimming in the sea whatever the temperature


----------



## Captain Evil

jaydee said:


> I avoid swimming in the sea whatever the temperature


Oh, me too! I will scuba dive in it, but swimming kinda scares me.

Well, the "Hot Tub" turned out to be extremely salty, and extremely cold. It is an area officially known as a "Polynya" or an "opening surrounded by sea ice". The snow to get down to it was almost up to my husband's waist, and he had to roll on top of it for part of the way just to get there.

Here are some pics:

Heading out there...








Playing around in the "Polynya"








...and returning through the deep snow.








His underwater video camera was non-functional, so he only got top=side video, but it was pretty cool: he was riding around the small pool on chunks of ice, like a miniature iceberg. Of course, it started snowing...


----------



## boots

Wow. Amazing. So far removed from anything I do. He sees things I can't even imagine.


----------



## jaydee

Makes me feel cold just looking at it!!
One of those things that I think must be a great experience but couldn't find the courage to do myself


----------



## Foxhunter

All I am going to say is that you must have antifreeze running through your veins instead of blood!

There are two programmes on UK TV, one is Build the Dream and the other Grand Designs. Both are interesting with many ideas.

One couple built a house in France using tyres for walls. These were packed tight with soil as they were stacked and then rendered. Most of their build was recycle. 

They might be on YouTube.


----------



## squirrelfood

I do not "do" snow and cold, much less ice and freezing water. Had to turn up the heat, wrap up in a quilt and drink a couple mugs of hot tea after looking at these pics!


----------



## Captain Evil

squirrelfood said:


> I do not "do" snow and cold, much less ice and freezing water. Had to turn up the heat, wrap up in a quilt and drink a couple mugs of hot tea after looking at these pics!


I know... looking at your acres and barn for sale in Arkansas... thinking, "That could work very nicely!" Not sure how we would make a living though, without the ocean next door.


----------



## squirrelfood

Heh. I grow cedar posts and make quilts. Actually there are decent jobs around, just no ocean. It's 65 degrees right now.


----------



## Foxhunter

65 might be good now but what about the summer heat? That can be as bad as the cold.


----------



## squirrelfood

Yes, it gets hot. It's why we have air conditioners and do our heavy work early in the mornings, or late evenings. At least we don't have to put on 17 pounds of clothes to get the work done.


----------



## Captain Evil

squirrelfood said:


> At least we don't have to put on 17 pounds of clothes to get the work done.


Today was a balmy 8°F. I wore:

-two sets of long silk underwear
-a turtleneck shirt
-a one-piece fleece-lined diving underwear suit
-two pair of socks with chemical toe-warmers inside
-tall boots rated to -160° F. (they don't work that low, believe me)
-a heavy Welsh black wool sweater
-a hooded fleece-lined sweatshirt
-a turtle-fur neck wrap
-a wool hat
-a balaclava
-two pair of gloves with chemical hand warmers

...and I was frozen. But my husband had fun, got some great video, and I took some pictures... about 750 of them. Here are two:

Playing in a waterfall......









It was snowing hard!









Yesterday he dove using 35% Nitrox, and the surge was challenging! He got some video, but most of it was swirling sand and mud.


----------



## squirrelfood

And I'm feeling a bit warm running around in a pair of cotton slacks and t shirt, with a pair of moccasins! Lots of sunshine too. I'll hold off on the waterfall for a bit, til I can do it in shorts and tank top. :smile:


----------



## anndankev

Captain Evil said:


> ... I wore:
> ...
> ...and I was frozen. But my husband had fun, ...
> 
> Playing in a waterfall......
> 
> View attachment 595346
> 
> 
> ...


Looks like he is having fun, but is he warm? 

What layers does he wear? Can you get a suit like his?

This is for his 28 project? 

Can't wait for Valetine's Day pics.


----------



## Maple

And yet again this thread has made my jaw hit the ground. Wow... just wow wow wow. 

I am going to have a look at those photos when I get home this evening and complain how cold it is without the fire lighting.


----------



## Captain Evil

Today's dive was challenging, to say the least. The ocean changes every day, and the forst three spots we checked were frozen solid. So this spot is only about 8 minutes from home, and I said, "Why don't you go in there? Easy access, and you could use an easy dive."

This is the spot...









Beautiful, no?

Well, the slush on the surface, which looked maybe a foot thick and fairly fluid, was five feet thick. My husband struggled out there, thinking that once he got under the slush, the dive would be do-able.

That never happened. Both valves on his dry suit failed, and his regulator began to free-flow, just couldn't handle the icy conditions. Struggling back through the slush was like struggling through quicksand, and without the valves working properly: well, it was a challenge.

My husband is a very experienced ice diver, and will do up to 11 dives on a winter's day looking for scallops, or stay in the water for hours on end working. In the early days, he would be in the water 36 hours at a time, packed into Depends, and only coming up to change tanks.

But he's never been caught in 5 feet of slush, with no way to drop below it or get free. His dive computer registered 26° water - way colder that sea water freezing temperature due to the motion of the ocean, and his heart rate registered over 180 as he struggled back to shore. He had to keep pausing to rest, but then the ocean would grab him and start moving him off. 

This is what the surface of the slush looked like:









He said it was one of his most difficult dives ever.




anndankev said:


> Looks like he is having fun, but is he warm?
> 
> It depends on what kind of dry suit he is wearing, what clothes he has under it, the temperature of the water, how hard he is working, and so on. Usually he is okay.
> 
> What layers does he wear? Can you get a suit like his?
> 
> His suit is an Abyss made of Kevlar, hand-built for him in Canada. He beats them up so badly that he gets a new one each year ($2,500 - $3,000)
> 
> This is for his 28 project?
> 
> Yup.
> 
> Can't wait for Valetine's Day pics.


I'm a little nervous about Valentine's Day...:shock:


----------



## anndankev

If you're not hard on it, it would last way longer than a year I bet.

Bat your eyelashes like Betty Boop and suggest you'd like an Abyss dry suit made of Kevlar for Valentine's Day.


----------



## Captain Evil

Yeah, most people consider the Abyss to be the "Suit of a Lifetime" but my husband is really hard on his. And I do have a drysuit, but not an Abyss: I really don't think I have the strength to move something that heavy and stiff. All together, my husband's rigging weighs something like 150 pounds.

The truth is, I am not a happy cold water diver. I have about 150 dives total, and only about 30 of them were in a drysuit. Give me Florida, Fiji, the Bahamas... If I had $2500 or $3000 dollars, I would get a little Welsh cob, or a nice draft cross!

Today we had plans to meet with a local historian at a very beautiful nearby cave, but the weather was so bad, that we postponed it. While we were at the site hashing it over, we got called about a dive job: a brand new twin engine speedboat caught fire and sank at the dock, so my husband will, if all goes well, be diving on that today, in hopes of raising it up.

He says it will be "a thousand times easier" than his dive yesterday.

Unfortunately, he just poked a new hole... a big one... in the wrist seal of his Abyss, so it might be a very cold and wet dive. I'll try to take some pictures, but i might not have time.


----------



## anndankev

Captain Evil said:


> ... ... If I had $2500 or $3000 dollars, I would get a little Welsh cob, or a nice draft cross! ....



Good one HaHa :clap:

I like the way you think.


----------



## squirrelfood

Hmmm.........a new cutting saddle..................


----------



## jaydee

Those last photos made me feel like I needed to put another layer of clothes on
I'm not a cold weather person - the winters here came as real shock to me coming from the UK where its so much more moderate all year around
Here its snow, snow, more snow and ice and a few months of OK either end of a hot humid summer.


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## Captain Evil

Well, the job came through, and the boat, or what is left of it, has been raised.

Holy Smokes! This was a brand-new, twin-engine power speed boat, just finished, secured to the dock waiting to be delivered to it's new owner, when it caught fire and sank. It cost $650,000.00. For $650,000.00, we could all get a new horse, and a new cutting saddle, each!

Here is the boat half-way raised:









It is ironic, but it is true: this commercial job was by far the easiest dive of February.


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## NorthernMama

Wow! I wonder if it was any Jewish lightening that hit the boat? Or maybe someone else??? How does a brand spanking new $$$$ boat catch on fire?


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## Captain Evil

NorthernMama said:


> Wow! I wonder if it was any Jewish lightening that hit the boat? Or maybe someone else??? How does a brand spanking new $$$$ boat catch on fire?


Good question. Apparently they put a space heater on it to keep the engines from freezing, which is something they routinely do in this brutal weather. Something just went wrong..

We do have "Jewish Lightning Syndrome" out here not infrequently, especially when the fishing is bad. One boat, a lobster boat which was an incredibly beautiful boat, built by hand for off shore lobstering, burnt in 800 feet of water. It was almost a million dollar boat, had well equipped galley and hot water showers... 

The owners were seen taking all of the electronics off the night before it burnt, and then it took them four hours or so to report their GPS position. They said they had no cell phone service, and the boat sank too fast for a Mayday, yet they did manage to get the whiskey into the life raft before she went down.

Everyone here thought they were going to jail. The insurance company even got NOAA side-scan equipment to look for it so they could examine the remains, but they were unsuccessful.

I doubt this was the same thing, as it had not yet been delivered to the owner; still, you never know.


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## Captain Evil

Yesterday my husband decided to go snorkeling on at one of the clean up sites (#7) from the wreck we salvaged in October. Although it was cold and the wind was screeching, it was also stunningly beautiful. The water turns a clear, glassy green-blue in winter. He filmed some gooseberries: small jellies which look as though they have neon running lights: so cool!

I found some ice caves...
















and some crazy looking sand patterns.
















Very beautiful place!


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## Captain Evil

Today...

6:00 a.m....
Negative 1° F....
4 Advil...
2 DayQuil...
1 hot coffee...

...and I'm ready to go!

It is getting harder and harder to find any open water in our area: everything is frozen solid. There is no break in sight. But, my husband found a little area where the water was running swiftly enough and plunged in. Here are some pictures.









Sorry about this one. He bent over to remove his ankle weights, and I called him and told him to look at me. He was ice everywhere. We couldn't turn his lights or his cameras off, as they were coated in ice.









Yesterday we went out in the early morning to catch the tide, and had to go on the far side of the island, as everything on our side was solid ice, as far as the eye can see. The wind was said to be 60 kts, but it felt like 50 kts mostly, with gust that were stronger. There were periods of total whiteout, mostly, I think, from blowing snow. We were the only ones on the road...








My husbands suit sprung a leak, and he was drenched.









It was quite beautiful, AND we were so close to the road that I could stay in the truck and still keep an eye out!


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## Captain Evil

And today...

Day 17
6:30 am
Negative 7° F.
2 DayQuil and feeling a bit better...
2 cups of coffee, and we're off.

Today was a dive day, and we checked several potential dive sites: everything is frozen. The bay is frozen as far as the eye can see, with big spikes and shards of ice sticking up from where the ice hits the rocks and shatters when the tide goes out. It is rather surreal. They are saying that this February is 15° colder than the norm, and no end in sight.

We finally went again to the backside, and he dove in this little harbor: only a little bit of floating ice hunks, and the water was fantastically clear.

He had about a 10' drop to hit the water.









He helped build the two stone walls you see behind him, during two desperate winters when we couldn't find any work on the water.

You can see how clear the water is, and an incredible color!









I have no idea where he will go tomorrow...


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## SwissMiss

LOVE the clear water!!! So beautiful! A part of me just wants to pack my scuba gear and come visit! But then I think of the temperature...:shock:


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## jaydee

It looks beautiful - but I think maybe I need somewhere more tropical right now!!!


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## Captain Evil

jaydee said:


> It looks beautiful - but I think maybe I need somewhere more tropical right now!!!


Oh, me too! Somewhere perhaps, like... Fiji?

Today's dive was not tropical, but it was beautiful. The air and water temperatures were the same: 28° F.









Crazy beautiful!









He wouldn't come out of the water!


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## Captain Evil

I wasn't going to post anything for a few days because I have been doing it so much lately, but... 

Why my husband chose this month to dive every day is such a puzzle. The news just said that this is the coldest month - not just the coldest February, but the coldest month - in our area ever recorded. Go figure.

Ed needed a clip about our dogs, so yesterday he went scallop diving to get them some dinner for his video. Up until now shore diving in a legal area has been impossible due to ice and/or wind/surge, but yesterday there was a chance and he decided to go for it. He caught about 8 sea scallops in all and then came in.

We had to lower all his gear down over a small (15') cliff, and haul it up the same way.

Here are some pics:

















... and the dogs' bacon-wrapped sea scallop supper...









...and the dogs...









Kinda drooly.


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## anndankev

Yum, and I mean it


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## anndankev

*Sea Scallops*

Please tell me a little bit about catching Sea Scallops.

Do they try to get away?
Do they move backwards in short little erratic bursts by propulsion from opening/closing their shell?

Do they stay still and you just pick them up?
Or are they stuck or holding onto something.
Or dig for them?
Do they hide?

Just wondering.


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## Captain Evil

Day 23 of diving, and we’re back in the deep freeze.
-8° F. : wind chill making it -30°
No Advil
No DayQuil
3 cups of coffee, and we’re off.

Today: freezing! A friend joined my DH (diving husband) in the water, and brought his kayak. They were in the water for over two hours. The tide was up and the current ripping, and they rode the rapids under the bridge over and over. I guess my DH decided kayaking looked like fun, cause he rode around for a while on some tiny icebergs, and went under the bridge on a couple. 

Here he is on his chilly boat.


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## Captain Evil

I'm trying not to post so much, but I can't help myself.

Yesterday was an ice dive, and the warmest day so far: 28° air and 36° water.

Three diving buddies joined my husband, and although all of them have dived in winter before, none of them had ever gone under the ice, so my DH ended up taking them one by one on a tether. As soon as the first diver went in, he flailed about a bit and stirred up the lake so badly that filming became impossible. 

They cut the hole with a massive chainsaw.
The ice measured just over 20" thick!









The last diver heading down with my DH









We thought we were going to have to do a second dive somewhere in order to get enough footage. However, by 7:00 that evening he had found enough snippets to cobble a clip together, so...yea! The bits of footage he got were so eerie: green water, golden beams from their lights moving about, air pockets like mercury trapped under the ice, a tiny triangle of light high overhead... eerie!

They found this little crayfish.









And then they filled the hole back in and marked it to warn snow mobilers.


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## Captain Evil

anndankev said:


> Please tell me a little bit about catching Sea Scallops.
> 
> Do they try to get away?
> Do they move backwards in short little erratic bursts by propulsion from opening/closing their shell?


Scallops move around a lot, and swim by opening and closing their two shells, as you said. But the don't go backwards, as so many of the old texts say they do, they move forwards. Sometimes they spin in circles, too. The little babies can get quite a bit of loft when they swim, and in the late spring they crash into my DH all the time. They are so cute, like little out of control spaceships!

The big ones usually move only a few inches at a time, but they also get around pretty well. They gather in big groups for spawning.




anndankev said:


> Do they stay still and you just pick them up?
> Or are they stuck or holding onto something.
> Or dig for them?
> Do they hide?
> 
> Just wondering.


Things in the ocean seem to happen either really fast or really slowly, and scallops seem to be slow. They move away from danger, like starfish, but they just seem to move a little bit at a time. They don't really hide, but they are hard to see, especially in these cold, murky waters, where sometimes you only have a few feet of visibility. 

The big ones are usually found in slight depressions in the mud made by them moving around, spinning, and by the motion of the ocean around them. they don't hang on to anything, although the little babies do send out rudimentary byssal threads to hold on to rocks and things. You just pick them up off of the bottom. 

Of course, I have some pictures...:?

A big scallop in the water: this is an especially beautiful one, covered in red encrusting algae. You can see the little black dots around the rim of the shells: those are eyes.









This one is a girl: the pink organ is her gonad. 









This one is opened up, and is a boy. His gonad is white. The part you eat is the white circle behind the guts. It's the muscle which opens and closes their shells for eating and swimming.









Scallops are so cool! I'm sure they are delicious, but I've never eaten one because their eyes just keep looking at me.


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## anndankev

Thank you so much for the info, but I need one more pic Haha.



Captain Evil said:


> .... crash into my DH all the time. They are so cute, like little out of control spaceships!....


^^^ One of the babies. ^^^


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## SwissMiss

Oooooh ice diving!!!! Can I triple-like that???
I can imagine that the footage is awesome! Especially with the ice being so thick and the snow on top of it it must look more like diving in a big cave!

Please keep posting! Those pictures are sooo cool!


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## Captain Evil

anndankev said:


> Thank you so much for the info, but I need one more pic Haha.
> 
> ^^^ One of the babies. ^^^


Well, you know i can't post just one picture...

I dug through my archives of baby animals in search of a baby scallop, and here are some babies I found.

Baby sand dollars.








A baby green sea urchin.








A baby orange-footed sea cucumber.








A baby common starfish (aka 'sea star').








A baby blood star.








A baby lobster.








And finally... a baby sea scallop. This one is smaller than my thumbnail.
Many baby sea scallops have these ridges in their shells, but they disappear as they get older. They are not always such a crazy color, but they are all beautiful.


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## anndankev

Are those lego people? lol


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## NBEventer

This has become my new favorite thread on Hofo...


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## Captain Evil

anndankev said:


> Are those lego people? lol


 They are Playmobile guys. They are the only ones crazy enough to be my Diving Husband's (DH) constant dive buddy. About four days ago he was contacted by this really famous diver/author, who is writing a history of diving facts and firsts, and he is going to include DH as the guy who has lost the most dive buddies in history. He just lost his hundred sixty second dive buddy to an ice floe accident, just this month. I may just happen to have a photo...

Here are the buddies preparing to go through the wildly running underpass...









This is the last known photo of the little guy before he was claimed by the deadly waters of Pirate's Cove. Sorry it's blurry, but everything happened so fast...


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## RegalCharm

Never to old to play with toys. :lol:

Have you ever thought of using a gopro camera to film your dives.

that would be cool to watch


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## Captain Evil

11:30 p.m.
-6*
My Diving Husband has to get in the water by 12.01 a.m., swim around and film for at least 28 minutes, and then make a short clip by dawn. We leave for Boston at 4:30 a.m. for his talk. 

Better go and start helping...


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## anndankev

good luck


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## Captain Evil

All went well. He got the footage he needed, but of course, the temperature dropped as midnight approached, bottoming out at -11° F. by the time he got in the water.

Because it was so dark and the ice is so thick everywhere, he decided to go in at a local marina where there are floodlights, and they use bubblers in the harbor to keep the ice "at bay" (so to speak). Besides, the boats look cool at night. Here is a shot from this morning, just after midnight.









And from yesterday's snorkel (0° at 6:30a.m.)
My DH and his friend...









The mist is called sea smoke, and it happens when the temperature difference between air and water is too great. The water here is tidal and was 28°, and the air was 0°...









...and a dive from the day before that. The ice was so thick he had to keep breaking it with his fist and helmet.










So we are off to Boston in an hour. I hate leaving the animals for a day. I miss them so!


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## boots

I enjoy your photos and reading about your adventures (what you call "life!") so much.


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## Maple

I just find it SO SO SO amazing how different people live. all of the above - I would never do, yet I find myself drawn into it completely. It is just amazing how different we all are, when we're all the same "species".


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## zookeeper1991

Thank you for this fascinating thread. I am enjoying all your amazing pictures and hearing all about your home and diving stories! I love reading every bit about it!


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## Captain Evil

We're back from the conference and... 

Well, first of all, right now they are staking out the house across the road and one door down because, apparently, it is a meth lab. Who knew? This is such a quiet place and a quiet town, I am really stunned! The cops are up at the local organic convenience store... they have reportedly arrested three people, and are waiting for a warrant to get in. 

The phone is ringing off the hook with neighbors wanting to know what is going on, but we just got home, and have absolutely no clue.

We'll see what happens.


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## Captain Evil

Aside from our driveway filling up with curious neighbors, it was all very quiet. Two big vans pulled up, one yellow and one black, and then some cop-type cars barricaded the road, and then we helped push some neighbors back out of our driveway, and ... it's all very quiet. Here's a pic of the black van.


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## Captain Evil

So it was a pretty fun, though short, conference, DH's talk went very well, and we are leaving for a three day dive and conference on Friday.

One of the cool things that happened was that the guy who was sitting next to me at the conference put his iPhone in my bag instead of his bag. I didn't realize it until the next day, figured out who's phone it was, and contacted him.

He was so happy! 

Turns out his is a famous discoverer of shipwrecks, with several pirate ship discoveries to his name. His latest discovery was the Santa Maria (yes, I know it is disputed, but life is short and believing that it is the Santa Maria is way more fun than not believing, so...) He is leaving for a two month shoot in Africa for the History Channel, and needed the some of the contacts on the phone.

He invited us and our boat down to the Cape where he has his own wharf and exploration boats and all sorts of cool things. I can't wait to see his museum and boats! vVery excited!!!


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## Captain Evil

So it was a pretty fun, though short, conference. DH's talk went very well, and we are leaving for a three day dive and conference on Friday.

One of the cool things that happened was that the guy who was sitting next to me at the conference put his iPhone in my bag instead of his bag. I didn't realize it until the next day, figured out who's phone it was, and contacted him.

He was so happy! 

The man turned out to be a famous discoverer of shipwrecks, with several pirate ship discoveries to his name. His latest discovery was the Santa Maria (yes, I know it is disputed, but life is short and believing that it is the Santa Maria is way more fun than not believing, so...) He is leaving for a two month shoot in Africa for the History Channel, and needed the some of the contacts on the phone.

He invited us and our boat down to the Cape where he has his own wharf and exploration boats and all sorts of cool things. I can't wait to see his museum and boats! Very excited!!!


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## Roadyy

I just sat hear and read every page of this thread. I am in awe of you, your DH, dogs and your life. I have no desire to live your lifestyle as I am not a cold weather person. lol, but very much enjoyed your story so far. 

Thank you for posting this and looking forward to reading more as you add. From the sunshine state of Florida I say hello from the sandy beaches. lol


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## Captain Evil

So we are back to work in earnest. The house is on hold as we are out of money and out of time.... 

Every second year the Coast Guard has to do a thorough hull exam on our boat out of the water. In the past we have put the boat on the beach: a time-honored method used around here forever. But this year the rules have changed, and now a deliberate beaching-out of a boat counts as an accident: a "grounding" with all of the paperwork, expense, testing and re-testing that a boat crashed on the rocks would undergo.

So we can't do that anymore. 

Unfortunately our boat is so big that hauling her out of the ocean on a trailer is extremely difficult, so we pulled her out using a boat sling. First time ever, and it was both nerve-wracking and fun.

We drove the boat up to a boat slip, and a huge machine on wheels drove over, put some slings under our boat, and hoisted her out of the sea.

Of course I have some pictures...

This is the hoist seen through the front of the boat.









This is the boat slip and the hoist with our boat in it..









...and working on the bow...









And a young eagle and an osprey that were flying about making a racket..















And finally, one of three turtles currently living in our pond.









I love the turtles!


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## Captain Evil

Fifty thousand baby oysters lost at sea... and one superhero diver determined to find them.









But all he found was this beautiful Forbes star...









Is this starfish abuse?


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## anndankev

Depends on who is "holding on" to whom.


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## boots

Good luck on finding the oysters! 

Can't imagine. I can spend a whole lot of time looking for missing cattle and my pastures aren't as large as an ocean!


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## Captain Evil

boots said:


> Good luck on finding the oysters!
> 
> Can't imagine. I can spend a whole lot of time looking for missing cattle and my pastures aren't as large as an ocean!


I know. I thought the task was hopeless before he started, but my DH (Diving Husband) was really surprised that he couldn't find them. We were originally told that the babies were in 300 or 400 bags, all tied together, and attached to a floating toggle. The oystermen's theory was that the ice had torn off the toggle and left the bags on the bottom of the sea. More likely was that the ice lifted the whole string of bagged babies, hauled it off down the bay, and dumped the whole works elsewhere.

However, as the evening progressed and more beers were consumed, it became apparent that the oystermen had very little idea of how many or what type of strings they had out there, and they finally concluded that there probably had never been any string of 300-400 bags of oysters, and that the oysterman who told them it was lost it and asked them to find it had just sort of invented the story.

"He does that you know: remember when..."

But my DH didn't care: he had a great time swimming around the bay for an hour and a half, and, after all, he did find some beautiful starfish.


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## Captain Evil

Life moves so fast...

Our boat passed it's hull exam with flying colors, and is back in the water. Here are the Coast Guard guys after the inspection. For some reason this photo looks vaguely wrong...









So we've started doing trips, but are also still finishing up winter dive jobs, so it is frantic.

This was filming a 3000 foot long intake pipe..









..and this was searching for a lost mooring stone (successful!)









..and, of course, clamming...









...and evaluating stranded seal pups...









This one just needed to be protected from tourists until his Momma came back.

And helping Alewives up a man-made obstacle! Wicked fun!

Here are the people releasing alewives above the falls.


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## Captain Evil

More Alewives because they are so cool. Here is an alewive... (alewife??)









And, naturally, they need kissing by Man and Boy!


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## Tazzie

Holy moley what an adventure! I just read this entire thread! Beautiful house!

I have to chuckle at the nervousness of hauling your boat out with the travel lift :lol: my family has owned and operated a marina in Western Michigan since 1986, so I grew up around them. I've seen many, many very expensive boats hauled out/launched and moved around with them.

Anyway, I'll be excited to see how your house progresses when time and money allow!


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## anndankev

Yeah, I'd like to see some updated pics of the house, wharf, island, and all, too. 

And of course Ahab. He is so photogenic, gotta love him.


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## Captain Evil

anndankev said:


> Yeah, I'd like to see some updated pics of the house, wharf, island, and all, too.
> 
> And of course Ahab. He is so photogenic, gotta love him.


Well, photos of the house will probably come soon. I have been avoiding them since we really haven't worked on it since running out of money last November. But, now we have insurance woes again: we are being cancelled AGAIN because we failed to complete the house. So somehow we have to find some money to finish up. My plan is to win Megabucks. That is also my medical plan and my retirement plan. Unfortunately, I think you have to play to win... always there's a catch!

If we provide pictures of the completed house AND yard by mid-June, MAYBE they will reinstate us. I know an angry call from the bank is just around the corner :-(.

But on the bright side, our first trips of the season are okay. We are limping along on gear 'cause we couldn't afford to upgrade or replace much this year, but we are seeing some cool stuff! Every year is different, and so far, this year looks exciting. Here is a lobster we found, growing in a new baby claw:









So, cool! If only they will let us slide by until fall...


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## Captain Evil

We did get the angry call from our banker. Sigh. So our insurance agent came over - on a Sunday (I love Maine!) to see what we still need to do, and although the cancellation still looks like it will happen, he was encouraging about the work still needing to be done. 

Today DH & I jacked up the dock, which had partially sunk under the weight of the snow this winter :shock: and also installed the ceiling on the front porch so more siding can go up. We can't work on it again until next Sunday, as we are booked booked booked running trips and doing promised diving work.

Here are some pictures of diving work we've done lately:

Locating lost moorings or checking their condition:























This is a deserted wharf/pier we explored:























I love poking around old piers!

A seal pup that needed evaluating (DH used to do the seal pup rescue in our area: this one could have been much worse).









And is a cute toad crab captured on a trip, and released:


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## anndankev

Hope you can pull it off (or put in up) in time.


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