Lore

Shrimp Boat Renovation

When not working our fingertips to the core at the office (not that serious), we here at Blue Ion like to indulge in some hands-on fun any chance we get. Robert will go windsurfing like a mad man in the harbor. Rich and Casey will dominate adult league soccer. Jenny writes love poems to Bruce Springsteen. And pretty much everyone tries to get the meat sweats.

At our house, it’s more about home improvement, gardening, and boat projects. This past weekend, my husband and I worked on an old (ancient) shrimp boat we are renovating. Normally we have a gaggle of friends helping out (drinking our beer) but this weekend it was just the two of us. Being newlyweds, we’ll round up and call it team building.

Since the boat has been gutted down to the engine, my normal job of crawling into tiny (funky) places was eliminated. My backup job being the tool fetcher was also eliminated since the hubs had plenty of room to store tools in the boat (damn).

Filter-free current exterior (now is the time to put on your Future Vision Goggles.)

shrimp-boat-exterior shrimp-boat-exterior-stern

Yesterday, I was promoted to The Big Daddy Sander – the grandfather of my old trusted pal The Wee Little Sander. This was not only a testament of confidence and undying love from my husband, but also means that I will be going on many, many more dates with The Big Daddy Sander. It’s kind of sander that makes your arms feel like jello and rivals any barre class in toning results. Unlike my normal Wee Little Sander, which I could run with my pinky toe if I had to, this sander takes 2 hands at all times or it would really and truly fly about 4 feet away.

I won’t lie, looking up for this picture was difficult.

shrimp-boat-sanding

Given random pieces, my job was to sand off the glossy finish to prep the wood for fiberglass. The piece was measured, drawn and cut by my (oh so talented) husband to join perfectly to the inside of the hull. And no, I don’t know what kind of wood it was. We clearly have a long way to go still…

IN CASE YOU THINK WE ARE CRAZY…these next images will restore your faith in our ability to turn this seemingly piece of shit shrimp boat into a glorious, shiny, and beautiful shrimp catching MACHINE!

Some Before & After pictures of our last boat renovation, the Hot Diggity Food Boat.

hot-diggity-exterior

Sometimes we’ll spend the weekend on the Hot Diggity, mooring it out in random places, but it’s main purpose is to sell hot dogs and other various treats to hungry (and sometimes drunk) boating patrons in the Charleston Harbor.

hot-diggity-seating

We know you thought of that idea back in college and how Charleston is the perfect place for something like that. People tell us that all the time. And we know why you didn’t carry it out. Because it was a huge pain in the ass.

hot-diggity-kitchen

But it was worth it.

hot-diggity-full

Like the Hot Diggity Food Boat, we have big plans for the shrimp boat too and ways to share it with the community. More to come!