We’ve been tied up with “real work” this month of August but David and I stopped by and visited Mahdee today to make sure her “climate control system”… e.g. the greenhouse fogger…is keeping up the good work. It is. I’d like to get a humidity/temp data logger. They’re available for as little as $100, but, we don’t really need one. It would just be nice. I check the planking with the moisture meter and its staying around 14%.

Today, Mahdee looked forlorn, to me, at least. We can’t work on her for at least another two weeks. Too much work going on with our business right now. Besides, we don’t have sufficient Douglas Fir to do more deck beams and don’t have fasteners or wood to complete the planking. So, she’ll just have to sit, alone, for a few more weeks.

We’ve been working on Mahdee steadily since last fall when we pulled her out of the water to begin this massive rebuild project. This August, we’ll be doing “less” work on Mahdee and spending more time on our business activities and sailing on Stargazer. Hopefully, I’ll have time to put up more pics of the project!

We’ve run through all the good mahogany for planking and can’t get more long lengths shipped down from Washington State until sometime in August. David has begun work on the deck beams but can’t really move forward with that project until additional Douglas Fir is shipped from Port Townsend as well. John, who had planned to spend most of the summer in Canada, kindly kept working on Mahdee’s planking until we ran out of wood. David and I were really focused on our business activities from mid-June onwards as we had some clinical testing and follow up data analysis to do, so it was great to have John continue to work away on the Mahdee planking while we were conducting business and while we were on travel back east. He has been working with us on Mahdee since late November 2006, and is now taking a much deserved break and will be vacationing in Canada for the next several weeks. With John happily in Canada, no more wood for a few weeks, and Mahdee located in a boatyard where she is safe from the mischief of errant boatyard workers, the timing is good for us to go ahead and take a break from Mahdee as well.

While no work is underway, we still have to check on Mahdee every other day or so. Mostly just to make sure that the nifty green house “fogger” is doing its job in keeping Mahdee’s tent humid. Her planking was at 9 to 12 percent moisture content before we moved her to SDBM; her purpleheart stem, tailfeather, and deadwood were drying out quickly from their higher moisture content; now even with the heat, the environmental system (running on timers) keep her planking at a steady 14% moisture content and allows the purpleheart to dry out more slowly.

Right now, we’re working away in front of the computers, but hoping to take several overnight trips on Stargazer throughout August.