For the last year, we have had luan panels over the floors in the salon, galley and forward passageway. The luan protected the rosewood floors in the salon and the newly installed Marmoleum floors in the galley and passageway. Now luan does have many uses, and it certainly protected the floors from the ongoing construction,…

As we shift from Phase I (work done by Lake Union Boatyard, checks written by Nancy and Peter) to Phase II (work done by Nancy and Peter – at a much slower pace), every free weekend is a work weekend. We have a long list of tasks to complete, which only seems to get longer, …

A continuation of the last post –  more then and now pictures Lighting LED bulbs are the way to go on a boat. They are available in 24v DC, they don’t generate much heat, and they use very little current – important when your power comes from batteries. If you have been down the aisles…

It has been just over a year since we began the Gyrfalcon Restoration. There were many times when we thought we would never get to the point of actually living on board. We recently put together a talk for the Classic Yacht Association (PNW fleet) annual meeting. While preparing the talk, we were both amazed…

We were at a scientific meeting a few weeks ago with several hundred toxicologic pathologists.  We were asked the same questions about the boat by lots of people.  Since everyone seemed to be curious about the same aspects of the Gyrfalcon project, we thought you all might be interested in the questions and answers.  So…

One of the major activities on the Gyrfalcon these last few weeks has been painting and varnishing. Jeff and his gang from Onshore Yacht finishing are doing a spectacular job. They often work over the weekends, when the boatwrights are gone, so that they can bag off sections of the boat and spray. At this…

The work continues. Scraping: Early in the year, we decided to hire two young guys to help us with scraping the old paint off the newly exposed beams, walls and ceilings. At first we were worried about the effect of the extra cost on our burn rate, and thought we would try it for a…

The biggest project on the Gyr has been the coach roof repairs. Gordy has been working on replacing the roof and many of the beams and building the cap and the handrails since October. He has done a beautiful job. In the last week or so, the flat surface has been glassed and epoxied and…

Renovations are finally taking a positive direction. In the past few weeks there seems to be more of the Gyr coming back together than being ripped apart! Here’s what’s been happening: 1. Coach Roof: The rotten roof has been replaced. The bad areas were much more extensive than originally thought, and in the end about…

The paperwork was finalized a few weeks ago—The Gyrfalcon is officially ours.  Repair work started in earnest prior to purchase, and is proceeding rapidly.  The major new developments: The Gyrfalcon has become the Gyr-Egg. The Boys at Lake Union Boat repair built a pole barn over the deck from 2x4s. She is now totally encased…