My cousin Charlie and I have been working on the bimini frame for SV Toogoodoo yesterday and today! Lots left to do - but making good progress. It really is quite a treat to spend this time with Charlie working in his shop. Charlie and I were born a couple of weeks apart, and though Charlie grew up in Charlotte and I overseas, we found a few summers to spend together as kids. We have some great stories. Working with Charlie on this project has ties to Dad and Uncle Buddy - Charlie's Dad. Dad was a pipe fitter and early in his career, when I was a newborn, he developed and led the steamfitters apprenticeship program at the Savannah nuclear plant . Dad helped Uncle Buddy, Charlie's Dad, become a pipefitter at Savannah. Dad moved on to working with the labor union AFLCIO and then with Labor Affairs for USAID and our family started travelling overseas. Uncle Buddy continued on to the Charleston Naval shipyard, where he helped Charlie get a job. Buddy moved on to engineering, and Charlie became a grinder, a fitter, then a welder at the Charleston Naval shipyard, and then at General Dynamics. From there, Charlie went to work at the ___ boatyard, learning the ins and outs of the marine trade. Somewhere in the middle of this, he studied graphic design at Trident Tech - where I worked. Charlie's Uncle Ronnie is a graphic designer, and Charlie is a skilled artist. With this combination of skills, he opened shop as Sirisky Welding - primarily making marine aluminum structures - T tops, tuna towers, radar arches and such. This week he is teaching me these skills as I help him build our bimini frame. He's the best in the business bar none. Its an honor to have his signature on our boat!
Here are a couple of time lapse videos of Charlie and I working in the shop. Lots of gaps in the photography - but you'l get the idea!
Making the bimini frame - day 1
Making the frame - Day 2
