We are now in the process of shutting down the wood shop and are scheduled to be finished by the end of July. It's a huge job and there are only the two of us but we are making good headway. It is amazing the amount of stuff one can accumulate over 11 years! As we are cleaning everything out, we are also setting aside many items that will be used on and for the future mission work boat. At this point we have a good supply of wire for re-doing the electrical systems (Which our son DJ will be in charge of) and various large metal boxes and tie-downs for the cargo hold, some wood, fasteners and fiberglass for refurbishing and building the interior to our needed specifications. There are also many tools that will be used for working on the vessel and also for a small on-board shop (which will be very important).
After the shop is closed Eric will be working in a wood shop that is only about 15 minutes away. He will be running the CNC Robotic Router (They bought it from us on the condition that Eric came with it :) The owner is very well aware of our calling to the mission field and understands that Eric will only be temporary. He will be training others to use the machine.
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Update!! The Missions Support Vessel!
In December of 2014, we were donated a one hundred and fouteen foot vessel
that will be perfect for the work the Lord has called us to do in the
South Pacific. Unfortunately, prior to it being donated, it received
some damage in the forward cabin areas as the result of a small on-board
fire. Because of this, *some work will be necessary in order to tear out
the damaged areas and do an extensive cleaning due to the soot damage
that happened as a result of the fire. Fortunately,
redoing the damaged areas will give us the ability to rebuild the
interior to our own unique needs and specifications, which we would have
needed to do anyhow. The carpets and vinyl overhead have already been removed, and one of the first things we will do is the soot removal.
*Update: This phase has been completed and progress photos may be viewed here.
Both Eric
and DJ are very experienced when it comes to boat repair. As a result,
they are fully capable of doing any and all work required to complete
this refit, which means we expect to be able to do most of the work
ourselves.
At the time of this writing, the vessel continues to be docked in Louisiana. Even though there is quite a lot of work that needs to be done to her, we know that she is a very well built vessel and
is in extremely good condition. Fortunately none of the mechanical
systems were damaged by the fire, so we will be able to focus most of
our attention on the refit and clean-up operation. We expect this work to begin on February 23, 2015.
Our
Facebook page and this website will be updated as often as is possible,
and we will include not only update reports but we will also post
photos of the work in progress as we move closer towards the goal of
getting her ready for the task the Lord has laid before us.
An interesting fact is that this
vessel was originally built in 1971, in accordance with the ABS
shipping standards of that time. During that time the requirements were
such that vessels like this were required to be built with a heavier
aluminum construction. Therefore, she was built far heavier than today's
boats, which will turn out to be very important given the islands we
want to be able to access.
Her specifications:
Length 114'
Beam 22'
Draft 6'
Engines are a pair of Cat 346 diesels.
Non computer controlled and equipped with air starters. We consider that
a bonus for where she will be serving! Fresh water cooled via raw water
heat exchangers. They are in excellent condition.
She has 3" two piece stainless shafts and 39" four bladed stainless steel propellers.
Fuel capacity is around 6000 gallons in four tanks.
Water capacity is 1500 gallons in two tanks.
5 bilge pumps with high water alarms plus a 240 volt dewatering / firefighting pump with two hose stations.
Electric generation via a 45 KW Perkins diesel genset and a 65 KW Isuzu genset.
She is equipped with a hydraulic system
via a power pack and a pto on the Perkins generator. The hydraulic
system runs the anchor windlass, bow thruster and a 2500 lb Hiab knuckle
boom crane.
As you can see from the photos she is a very well built vessel and we
feel very blessed to have been given a vessel that will meet our needs
perfectly.
From the laundry room forward things
will be getting torn out and replaced. There will be additional bunk
space, a small workshop and possibly a small sound / recording booth for
supporting language translation work.
