Latest news on the Chris Morejohn Tom Gordon Islamorada Marine skiff and several other home built skiffs a building

Tom Gordon sent me some pictures of our skiff collaboration a few days ago with an update on whats up with it. I also will be sharing some pictures of several homebuilt skiffs that are being designed and built by their owners for their own use. Each one has a different story to go with each skiff.

Here are some shots of the plug being built. Tom is building the plug as a mold that he will build a hull from and then wet test. When satisfied with the hull he will put the infomation he has gathered into the cad lines drawings program that he has made from my original hull lines. He can then with this new info final tool the plug mold and make a perfect plug. From this he will then make the working hull mold.

Sounds complicated but its not. The pictures that you see are a basic plywood jig set up to hold the putty that is being sprayed into this jig-form. Then the computer driven router comes over into this glob of cured putty and starts routing out to the hull lines. When done its perfect. Of course if our thinking is not then we will just end up with another skiff.

Tom Gordon gave my hand drawn lines drawings to a navel architect by the name of Johnny Sebastion.

I love that name. We have never met. Johnny put all my lines into a cad program and faired them with this.

In doing this he could now see the displacement at any angle, with any amount of bow weight and stern weight at any draft. All this and you can see every thing in 3- D moving it about the screen.

From this you can see what the weight could be. That is what the displacement would be at such and such draft and tilted angle.

From here you have to do a hull skin analysis and get your whole hull weight list together. With a computer in the right hands this is the best way to go.

Tom has told me that they are sticking very closely to my rounded stern concept. They ended up moving my upper chine up a bit from my drawing. They have widened the hull a bit as drawn to be able to meet the Coast Guard standards for a 115 HP engine on the stern.

I figured he would do this as the hull lines I sent were to the inside of the hull skin. They have stuck to the hull sides and bottom I drew and have tweaked the aft bottom pads to their current thinking and knowledge. I can see a very intresting detail in the stern vee. Looks to me like a nice keel setup for turning at speed. They ran the stern bottom through many different programs before settling on what you see here. Iam very happy with what I see. Notice how all the hull lines flow. No hard parts or straight lines except for the lifting pads aft.

The skiff will weigh 530 lbs ready to install an engine on. With two 250 lb guys aboard with a 70 hp outboard it will draft 6.5". With the same two guys and a 115 hp motor it will draw 10".

I am looking forward very much to riding in this skiff. I feel this skiff with a 70 hp should be a great all round skiff for the anglers that want to be able to go into some rough waters and still get into the shallows.

The great thing that Tom Gordon is doing is using all of todays modern technology to make a perfect hull with out rushing and worrying about everyone else. This skiff will stand alone when done.

The next skiff here is being built by Jon Conner up in Vermont. He has built several other skiffs over the years and after reading my blog decided to design and build another new model. We have been corresponding this past year going over ideas, the pros and cons etc. of each.

He likes to build in plywood using the stitch and glue method.

With this method you are kinda stuck with a limited amount of hull shape forms. It is hard to add in chine pockets and such as you are not building over a solid building jig and molds.

But a very nice hull can be made this way in a short amount of time.

Heres Jons skiff being stitched up, that is the 9 panels that make up the hull have been cut to shape and have been sewn together using small wire ties. When all together he will roll over and reinforce the inside of the hull with a few bulkheads to keep its shape and then Fillet and glass the inside Chines. After this is done you roll back over and fair the outside and glass this over. Then you add any spray rails or chine details on over this glassing over and final fairing the whole skiff. It looks to me he has the hull secure enough to fair and glass while still upside down. I will have to ask him about this.

Outside and upside down now. You can see Jon is trying out some reverse spray rails up forward on the bow area. He has also added a chine strake aft. We talked about this strake and its pros and cons. Jon liked my chine pocket idea but it would have been time consuming to try and build it into the hull sides when building a stitch and glue hull. My opinion was that adding it to the outside would work but with the liability of a bit of water noise when poling if the boat is tipped back and forth the water running off the top of this external strake could make a bit of noise. 

Jon felt it was worth putting in. He can always remove it. I feel when hes in a fast turn his skiff will be like on railroad tracks and will not slide much with this setup. The black bottom is carbon powder in epoxy. I personally think doing this is a waste of money. If worried about bottom friction or wear then add one more layer of 7 oz. cloth just in the areas of worst abrasion.

Right side up showing the aft strakes.

Nice shot showing the locker space aboard. You can see the aft chine- strake very well here. Lots of lift from this as it will catch the water going out the sides aft and gain lift from this.

Decks going together. Notice his bait well stern box transoms are vertical. Hes gained all the displacement he can by doing this. Also he has no plans to use trim tabs in such a light small skiff.

Nice lines to this skiff Jon. He has been weighing it as he goes along. Will finish out under 300 lbs.

Look at the sheer on this skiff. When building a skiff on the floor like Jon did it is hard to stand back and lean over with your head upside down to get a look at your sheer. To me this sheer is fine for this boats intended purpose which is to run and fish in shallow protected waters. Theres no pretense that this is going to be a rough water skiff. The flattish bottom precludes that to some degrees.

For looks an inch more in bow height might look good, But when running this bow will be up in the air at all times. When poling around it will be sitting perfectly with little windage. Jon fishing from the stern with the added bouancy of his stern boxes will support his weight well so this skiff should pole and float quite level when fishing alone.

This is Jons very simple home made trim tilt braket. See the crank in the stern. With the stern boxes added if they are straight as the bottom in the stern they will act like trim tabs holding the bow down a bit. With this engine trim setup the motor is set back a bit so this would help counter act this. I normally 

Design in a bit of upturn to the bottom of stern boxes. But with a light weight skiff, trim tabs and a biggish engine this is not needed. The skiff will just want to be out of the water when running. So thats where trim tabs help so much.

Here you can see how simple this trim plate is to make. Aluminum can be cut with simple power tools so a setup like this is very cost effective.

Jon says his skiff will be in the water soon so will post the pictures when I get them. Well done Jon !

A very energetic young man by the name of Dustin Bates has been corresponding with me as he has been making a plug and mold for a biggish flats skiff for himself and other family members to build and finish off on their own. He plans on building three skiffs from this hull design and mold. I feel he will be building more though once people see his work.

Dustin started off this hull design by building over an old hull shape that he acquired. He felt this initial shape would be a good starting point for him to add all his ideas and energy too. 

When going this route you can save yourself lots of time and money if the the hull shape you have cost next to nothing and is close to what you invisioned for the final hull. But you will be stuck with a lot of its old shape to start with and this can steer your shape in directions you may not eventually want.

So think about it, draw it out before you start.

Dustin knows boat building and mold making. His last company was Barracuda Boatworks.

We have talked back and forth about details on the bottom of his skiff. My advice to him and to everyone is to keep things as simple as possible and dont make cute gimmicky details.

Dustin liked some of my idea details that I had posted a while back on reverse spray strakes, and chine details.

Lets look at what hes come up with.

Stern looking forward. Because of his initial hull shape being long and straight he has had to deal with that aspect. I would like to see some curve going in forward about midway on this chine. But as you will see it will work with his bow once seeing the whole boat.

Here it is at its forward end. Wow this should really redirect the water flow off the bottom as it goes out and aft. Cant wait to see how this looks underway.

Bow shot before final primer goes on. 

Shooting on the mold gelcoat over the finished plug. Its pretty amazing that just a simple polished on coat of wax will keep this stuff from sticking. But you have to have well designed draft angle in your plug and you must let every process on the building of a mold sit for a few days to vent its gases otherwise things could stick. After having built close to 200 plugs and molds I know pretty much what can go wrong.

Nice, now let cure and then skin coat.

Plug all glassed waiting for its outer core skin and framing. See how nice and neat everything is. The fuzzy edge will be cut off and then wedges will be hammered in the sheer plate with a little bit of water squirted into it to part the mold from the plug. Such nice neat work. A Very exciting time. 

If you see sloppy glass work around a builders molds its a good sign that his boats will be sloppy too.

Ah ! Shes free ! Now you have to grind and trim the sheer edge. Next you go into the mold and sand the entire surface up to 600 grit to smooth out all imperfections. Then next its buffing away for hours.

For this boat size about two days worth. Then let sit and gas off. Then its wax on wax off. Five coats. Will take two days. Then let gas off. Now you can build a hull.

Bow detail. See how long and straight the outer lower chine is. If you start with your own design then that could have a bit more curve in it. But this skiff is going to be very stable at rest. It looks like it should be very dry when running. Lots of stuff going on down there to stay dry.

The thing is with a mold like this if any of those reverse spray strakes need to be removed or shortened its just a matter of filling in the mold and refairing. 

Transom details. The little white strips are where the mold stuck to the plug fairing. No big deal.

When building the Whipray plug I used a new type of Bondo type fairing compound that was so easy to use and sand. I went through all my usual steps. When it came time to remove the mold it was stuck completely! I had to tear out the entire plug piece by piece. Luckily the plug was built in cedar strips. About 50% of the bottom had stuck. The plug was destroyed. I later learned that this new putty was giving everyone the fits. It needed days to gas off before spraying on the gelcoat. 

When I got the last piece out of the mold I called Hal Chittum and said we now had a mold to start the project with.

To me theres too much going on in this transom. Like I said before I dont like cute. All those little pockets add drag and turbulence when running. I did suggest Dustin round the corners as much as possible to help with the noise.

I will keep posting Dustins build updates as I get them. This young man needs to be followed as he is doing this whole project in his spare time on his own dollar. He must have an understanding wife.

This next project is being built by another young man that wants his own skiff to guide and fish out of. He cannot afford the current costs of flats skiffs so has taken it upon himself to design and build his own skiff. Ren emailed me a month ago asking some basic questions about foam cores and building a one off. I did not really have the time so just said give me a few weeks and I would post a blog about lofting a skiffs lines and how to set up for building. ( soon).

Ren is a man that wastes no time so these past few weeks he started on his skiff project with his vision in his head and his energy getting things done.

He is building to his own devised method. 

This is the picture he sent me of his temporary plug - mold to form his foam core over. Underneath the plywood veneers are his station molds. I have not seen a sketch but I figure he has draw out his skiff on paper and has cut all his stations from this drawing. Again building on the floor is such extra hard work bending over. But Im 57 now and when I built my first flats boat hull I did it the same way. I had energy to spare back then and I too was in a hurry to get her in the water.

Ren has temporarily laid on a light fiberglass Matt sheeting to hold his plug together.

He has now started to cover his plug with foam core by screwing down the sheets with a limited amount of screws. He intends to pull them out when he rolls over the finished glassed hull.

This is fine. There are lots of ways to hold down the core. I like finish nails as they pull out really easily with only a small hole to fill with putty. 

I have never seen a skiff go together like this. But Iam very impressed by Rens energy and get her done attitude. He should be done with the outside of the hull soon.

Look at this shape. With a bit of fairing this could be the next new skiff.

Keep up the energy Ren.

This skiff I saw on Facebook on a site-group called Trick my Skiff that I follow. I dont know whos building it but a mold in the background in one of the photos looks like one of mine that I designed and built. So.... Someone please let me know.

Iam just showing this skiff to not pick it apart but to share what I see. This might help you to look at all skiff designs with a questioning mind. Please look at all what I say in the same way.

The mold just over its bow looks familiar. The " Plankton-Ultimate Skiff?"

Ok, this is a great looking skiff hull. Love that bow. The chine detail is very crisp. This skiff from here looks like it will run great with a 6 hp.

Now what I question is if its designed to be a flats fishing skiff then with its very obvious shallow draft that very nice chine detail most likely will be very noisy as the boat hull is tipped from side to side. The sharp edge of the chine when coming out of the water will cause a small wave and dripplets that will make noise. Its to close to the surface of the water so will be coming out allot. No one fishes a boat totally flat at all times.

What a nice run. Nice curve to the hull Chines. A great skiff for small HP. 

But the Chines are up too high for being quiet. If this skiff were totally flat bottomed then you would have to really lean over to get its chine out of the water. Not so with this type of bottom. Will only take a few degrees of tilt. The difference between this ever so slightly veed hull and a totally straight flat bottomed skiff in ride would only be in speed underway. And only just a bit. A totally flat bottomed skiff if leaned over by its operator and passengers to a ten degree angle would present a nice vee into an incoming chop. With a veed hull you will end up with a flat bottom when leaning over.

So I feel the dead flat bottom would  give you the better ride if you knew how to run the skiff. 

But this skiff looks so cool upside down. I want one! But without that stern bottom.

Classic shape here except for the stern.

The stern. I would love to hear the explanation for all of this ! I can see some things. A bit of a pocket for less drag when on plane. The steps can act like a keel when turning. BUT ! When turning if this skiff leans just a bit they will not be grabbing but wll be in the air doing nothing. That rounded keel sould have a sharpe edge to it to grip the water in a turn.

All this will add drag when poling. I would like to know how this skiffs turns out.

It should plane out with a 15 hp if built in the 250-300 lb range at about 18 knts.

I sure like its lines but want to know if all that stern bottom stuff works.

Its back to cute stuff. Is it really worth it? Well see. But I would love to have a hull like this with a clean run to the stern, solid glass bottom with cored sides. Nice all round nock about skiff for low hp.

This Last skiff was built by a Bahamain in the Abacos of a Hells Bay Skiff. There are lots of HB skiffs over there fishing the Marls. This photo was sent to me by Oliver White. Thanks Oliver.

When I next sail back home to the Bahamas next summer I will look up this Bahamain and give him hull lines drawings to work from for his next build.

A few skiffs out there being built. Lots of the skiffs today will look very similar but in reality they will all be different as its all in the details that will separate them all. Some will be be real yachts done to perfection but all will float and get you out to the same spot looking at the same fish. Remember this.

I live aboard my own self designed and home built plywood sailboat that is moored in the same anchorages as the wealthiest people in the world with their perfect yachts. We go to the same reasturants, shop in the same stores, drink side by side in the same bars, breath the same air and swim in the same sea. Are they having more fun than me? Do they see the same sunsets differently? Probably not.  The difference is they drink more expensive Rum than I do.

Start building your own skiff, yes it will take a bit of time out of your life. Give up your time on the Internet and you will have plenty left to get building. Think of the satisfaction of catching fish out of your own self built skiff.

The Hogfish Maximus is a very unusual looking boat. But because I built it myself and sail about the oceans in it I get more job offers than I can take to help others with their store bought boats.

 Lets get going!

 

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LAnse aux Epines House a house I built in Grenada

The truth is I did the drawings, engineering, supervised all the construction, taught the locals new building methods and with the owners ready cash flow built this place in local record time.

Iam sharing the tale of this project here as a record for my kids to look back on to show what can be done with a basic education, ( Iam self taught from 9th grade on) common sense, hard work and a bit of money.

In my life time I have found all my jobs by face to face meetings. Most by chance, some by referrals from past jobs. Living on a sailboat and sailing to distant islands being on the move all the time gives me the ability to come across lots of different opportunities with my basic skills. As stated, I do not have a high school diploma, but I feel good common sense has been a good traight of mine. I can read so Iam always educating myself. The math I know is high school level. Iam good a geometry, accounting, and understanding that there are no short cuts with math.

My math skills have held me well in dealing with other peoples money. I think of their money as mine so keep meticulous records. Since I have worked my way up from the bottom I know how to make a dollar stretch a long ways. 

I was taught by my Cuban grandfather that had immigrated to New York in the middle of the depression speaking no English this simple rule." Cristobal, you dont need to remember everything, you just need to know where the information is and how to use it." He found a job, raised his young sons, and going to night school received a Masters degree in engineering. An American success story.

I have added to this advice that I never lie if I dont know how to do something, but in my head if I know where the information is for this new project I will get back to you soon with info.

I had many years before worked for six months for a friend in the Florida keys building concrete houses. My job consisted of building plywood forms, laying in the steel work, pouring cement, stripping off the forms, and starting the whole process over. During this time period I helped build 6 buildings. I learned a lot  about this building process during this time that I would carry over to this job.

This job came about by chance. I was hoisting my dinghy on deck in Prickely Bay in Grenada getting ready to sail north back home to the Bahamas. We were low on cruising funds. We had just crossed the Atlantic a month before from the Cape Verdes after a years sailing around the Atlantic islands. It was time to find a good job and to get our young girls into school again. They were doing Calvert home schooling but our oldest wanted to be part of the mainstream. She was 15 and wanted what all kids that age wanted, a life of her own.

Before the dinghy was stowed our friends Tim and Galye Evans yelled over from a big sloop that had anchored between us. The owner of the sloop wanted to talk to us about a job he had in mind.

I put he dinghy back in the water.

Hurricane Ivan had just destroyed about 50% of the houses in Grenada including his which we were anchored to the leeward of. It had been an old small bungalow that had originally not been built well to start with. It was a wreck. He wanted to build a new stronger and bigger place.

He did not want to deal with the locals at their pace and the way they would deal with costs and building standards. He wanted a hurricane proof new place, a huge pool, a replica sugar mill apartment 

With its own pool and the new place would have a gym, and on and on.

When telling this to Tim and Gayle on his boat as they were visiting, Tim pointed over to the Hogfish and said, " Chris is the man youre looking for". He came over and we talked. I looked at his sketches of his vision. We argued about building standards. He wanted to save a bunch of the destroyed house. I explained my vision to do what he was looking for. After a couple of hours of back and forth he held out his hand and said he wanted me to build his house. We shook hands and struck a deal.

We really enjoyed our time In Grenada. This job took 1-1/2 years to do. Our oldest daughter Kalessin stayed for the first year going to school ashore with her sister. She then at 16 moved to Florida and went to high school there staying with a friend. We would catch up with her when this job was over.

After hurricane Ivan the place was pretty much bare. We rebuilt the dock first. 3 large Catana catamarans had flipped over three times crossing the bay to land on the original dock destroying it. Don Streets little "Iolair" ended its life there too. I have its bronze Wickham roller furler that I dove up hanging at my house. The winds had been so strong that the red clay tiles a mile across the windward valley were piled up against this house. Asphalt shingles were stuck 4" into the trees that were still standing like Ninga blades.

These are the sketches that the owner provided me with to start on the designing of the house.

He explained verbally what he wanted.

This is his land scaping vision.

I supervised all the trench digging with this JBC using my Plastimo hand bearing compass to get all my tangents. The 21 year old driver was from Guyana and had to dig all the trenches and move the dirt up the hill to be saved for use under the pool. He was fantastic moving this thing around like a one armed crab. The trenches took 2 weeks to dig.

The crew starting on the foundations. Because I had free run on how to design and build this place I just made sure everything was at the Dade County Code level or above. I put steel through every block and pored all the walls solid.

We had lumber stored every where as there was not much space on the top of the hill where the house sits. We were always moving stuff.

The bottom of the pools infinity edge.

The Sugar Mill started. Thats Paul. He had chopped his brothers hand off a month before in an argument with a machete. He was a very quiet worker. 98% of the guys had zero body fat. Very fit and could work all day in the heat and sun. Iam used to it to but at times the sun over head was strong at 12 degrees latitude.

Sugar Mills first floor. This building has been rented non stop since it was built.

This house design called for some very long open spans inside. 22 for some. I just engineered these huge box beams in plywood and using glue. All wood here is Green Heart from Guyana. When orderd at 2x12" thats the way it came. Very heavy. I ordered $189,000.00 US dollars worth with all dimensions listed. The order came in five 40 container boxes with all the planks Jammed in without any order. All had to be removed in one day, stacked and stickered to length. What a day that was, just brutal as this wood weighs a ton each. Three men to pick up one plank.

When all was done I had been shorted about $32,000.00 in wood. I faxed back what they had not sent but I had paid for. Amazingly the rest came on the next freight boat without a word. So much goes on here like this I beliveve they do this hopeing the rich foriener does not notice.

Looking down at the pool. It rains every day so stuff just grew all the time.

I design my floors to never move when walking on.

Second floor walls were 10 high inside.

The steel guy worked 10 hours a day with a helper to keep up with the project.

Victor a mason in the front porch

Pumping cement was always a challange as the pipes would always clog with a conch or some rock. 

The pool bottom about ready to be filled in. The pool is the largest one in Grenada. Its ten feet deep.

Contains 135,000 gallons of water. I put in French drains all over the place. When filling in I compacted the dirt and watered it down for days to be as compact as possible. The floor of the pool took 112 yards of cement. This pour took 22 hours to do using all the local cement companys. I had floodlights, a food cart and changed the crew out on watches to get this all done with a wet edge. Its bottom and walls were 14" thick with Double rebar matting. No cracks in the entire project to date.

Pool bottom

Dining area going together.

Upstairs rooms. Walls were sheeted in Hardie board planking

Always storing wood some where.

The owner wanted to build the second story on top of the old house. I said no as it was too weak.

When he left to fly back to Europe I dug out and built proper foundations, collums and support perimeter belts. So he had a new foundation inside the old one. He did not notice this till after the whole project was finished.

My main wood worker Etteane and me on Friday party day seeing who could stick their belly out the farthest. Etteane is from Dominica. He is a fantastic craftsman. I believe he was stoned smoking pot every day he worked for me. Most guys smoked pot all the time. We never had an accident during the entire build. But I had to keep pulling the pot plants that were growing from the seeds that were falling out of their joints. 

Mr Rolle and I this trip catching up on old times. He is a master carpenter from Dominca. Does not drink or smoke. He worked building the house with his girl friend doing all the detail work, like all the stairs and scarf joints. Here we are this year with me hiring him to rip and cut rough teak for my current project redoing a teak deck on Wild Bird in Antigua. I sailed to Grenada to buy the teak and get Mr. Rolle to help me make up all the planking as he is as fussy as I am about details and he has all the big tools needed to do the job. When we were building this house I was flying back and forth to Miami to buy supplies. I could bring in everything without duty. Duty is so high there that most workers could not afford tools. I bought Mr. Rolle a table saw, joiner, thickness planer, chop saw and other hand tools. These are the tools we used to shape up the rough teak. All being used everyday but in like new condition. Its no big deal to sail 700 miles to get supplies and stuff done right.

LAnse aux Epines house today.

I love this pool but with the trade winds blowing over it it loses 1/2" of water a day through evaporation.

The front drive way

Today with the owners latest boat.

Rachel a few months ago enjoying the morning where Victor the mason was a few years ago

Kitchen

Dining room

Stairs going up to the five bedrooms. All wood is green heart and is all bunged.

Living room being cleaned by the house keeper. See all the collums I put in while the owner was gone to support the second story better. 

All the beams are open and all finished bright

Owner wanted this bathroom set up. Floors are oak. Walls cypress.

8,500 feet of Italian marble throughout

Pool pump room.

Starting the hill climb looking up at the Sugar Mill

Marvin the grounds man. He worked for me as a general helper. When the house was finished I recommended him to stay on as the maintence man as he was 19 at the time and I could see that he was very bright and hard working. Hes been there now 11 years. You can just see the Hogfish off to his right.

A dormer I installed five years ago on a trip down island to race and work. These let the heat out in the evenings. The house is very cool but the owners tend to lock all the doors at night as they worry about crime. The air cant flow so it gets hot. I like living on a sailboat as I have a moat around me at all times.

The porches are 7 wide

Cabana. Lots of slippery Italian marble tile about.

Sunset

With so much rain in Grenada its easy to landscape.

In the pools infinity edge I put a 4" ledge down 4 for your toes to hang onto. Its 10 deep here as the owner who is just to my right wanted to say he could float his 60 sloop in this pool.

Iam at the left in this picture. The mast you see comimg up in the middle of us is his 60 sloop. The mast is 85 tall.

During the build of this place I had at times men from Montserrat, Antigua, Dominica, Guyana, Cuba, Nevis, and many Grenadians all speaking their version of English. The deal I made to all my men was that if they stuck with the job till the end they would receive a 10% bonus in the amount of their wages for the project. They wanted to work 10 hours a day 7 days a week. They were used to the local way of the boss showing up in the morning for a bit and then disappearing the rest of the day. That left lots of time for slacking off.

They had never had a boss like me though. The house site was a two mile walk for them to get to in and out of after a 1-2 hour local bus ride from the other side of the island.The local contractors let their men find their way to the work sites.

I picked up everyone at the two mile bus drop off site and drove them all back and forth each morning and evening starting at 6:30 in the morning and ending at 6:00. So they saw me first and last. I explained to them that in order to get 10 hours of pay they had to work 10 hours but at a nice even pace. All the work I delegated everyday to each crew I knew from my own experience what and how long it would take. So I never asked more than what could really be done. This they picked up on real fast. I also explained and showed them many new ways to build things that were much faster than what they had been doing. This they liked as they learned stuff that they could apply to their own houses. Most West Indians want to work but will try and drag out a job with the idea that it will last longer if it takes longer. This system I had to change. I did it by example of showing them how to nail up a stud wall 55 long in one day as opposed to the week and a half they would have taken. I hired everyone that asked for a job explaining that they had 3 days to prove their worth. I also gave everyone a raise after the first week if they could do what they claimed. When they got better more raises. If they were seen slacking off I fired them. In no time at all I was seen as being fair and hard working. I got a good crew of 20 guys moving along enjoying seeing this house going together so fast and built like no other in strength and details. The other local builders saw this too. I started to get offers to build more houses. 

At any time I would have my core crew of about 30 men working with at times another 15-20 subcontractors doing electric, plumbing , rock work , etc with me having to oversee all they were doing to stick to my standards. 

There was every shade of black, brown, redish brown, chocolate and tan working. To these guys if you were the blackest black and were a Rastafarian from Jamacia or Dominica you were the coolest guy. Then it was all about shades of black and brown. So when saying to me to " Go don a speak dat dark skinned mon"

What ? They are all dark skinned. Not really when you look about. Lots of shades going on. They said I was a red skinned man between us but when an official came to see the boss they always said," He da White guy over der" pointing at me.

West Indians do not want to work alone so will always pair up with a friend so they can talk. They talk continually. Most all do not want to be put in charge at all even for more pay. So you have to get them sorted out into working groups and give them a doable goal with the alpha guy telling the other guys that they were not doing it right or to hurry up. They became leaders with out knowing or asking. Then you can leave them to it and go on to the next group and project. This has worked well for me in building boats too. 

At times during a pour with 8 guys yelling at each other in their own local version of English with most of them not understanding each other I would step in and yell " Please speak the Queens English!" 

They all in their youth went to British schools so can speak clear English if they want. But its not so cool so most just go on with their local version of talking like a Jamaican. " Ah boss, de Conch be stuck in de hose, wa to do?"

It was a daily challange to keep things moving along at a good steady pace. Most foreigners that get to the island that are used to first world order look at everything down here as chaos. I look and see a way to try and steer and control this chaos. To survive you have to be able to punt, kick and weave every day like its a soccer game. No day will be alike or unfold as you planned and hoped for the day before. It will pour rain for two hours, then be hot as hell with no wind, the pump you need for the days pour is broken, the crane you can hire has no dump bucket but his rival company does, so how to make it all happen. 

Knowing the local mind set and customs helps. You have to greet everyone with a good morning or good afternoon before going on about business. You have to find out where all your main suppliers hang out so when they are supposed to show up you instead track them down and make sure they know you want them and get them to come to the job site. They want the job but most are in no hurry to do the work. Paying your bills right after the job is done does wonders. Now they know you mean business. Dont ever give money in advance. You buy the materials on your own and when so much is done then you pay. The going pay rate for the top carpenters was $ 45.00 a day, $30.00 for masons and $25.00 for laborers. It has not gone up much since then. 

Looking back I still cannot belive that I was offered this job with only Tim and Gayles reference after only a few minutes conversation. Such is boating life. The owner is a very successful Irishman that was very frugal with his money. In the end I built the place at a cost fully furnished for $138.00 US a square ft. I got everything in duty free because the Chinnese were building a new Cricket stadium for the Grenadians for the up coming world Cricket match to be played there. The island needed hotel rooms. I counted up 11 bedrooms and bathrooms so that it fell into the hotel act and enabled me to save about $400,000 in duty. They never came out to count up the rooms or inspect the building for code. The third world has lots of loop holes you can wiggle through.

When rachel and I sailed into Prickely bay this winter the owner had just left to go to his other houses in St. Barts. He graciously offered the place to us to use while we were there. Tim and Gayle were sailing back there after ten years absence in their new Boat Wild Bird. They had not seen the place since I started the project.

Along with them and other new friends we had some great parties around the pool looking out over the bay and our sailboats at anchor below over the next few days. 

This project has been one of many that I have taken on or been a part of in our sailing travels about the Atlantic basin. I have never been lacking for a job or work while sailing. Thats why I carry so many tools with me and need a vessel that can carry this load. You to can do the same thing if you have basic work skills, energy and good common sense.

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