A RARE DAY WHEN ALL WAS IN BALANCE

For some years I had the Kiki Dee moored safely on the inside of the harbor, grounded in all but the highest tides and always in sight from the dining room table. She was always tending to settle port down, perhaps due to a slight heaviness on that side. But on a cold new years day I noticed something very special. The Kiki Dee that night had settled squarely from the falling tide on her narrow keel, merely 12 inches wide, and her entire 30 foot wide stance was now carefully balanced on this small footprint. In all the years I have had her, this is the only time she did this. For some unknown reason, I felt this new years day was significant and that perhaps there was a sign or message in all this for me.... but after years of contemplation..... I am still stumped.

BOAT SHED - PLAN A

After some years on the beach waiting for something to happen, the
Kiki Dee gets some attention. We had just finished the reconstruction
of the lodge and bungalow with the timberframe still ahead, so we
needed some "quick and dirty" solution to get the boat refit
going..... the idea was "shrink wrap". I ordered the material and
rented the special flame thrower and in a day, had her dry for the
first time in many years. Plan A was a great idea... with a flaw.
Add the typical winter wind and snow to the picture and down she
goes. Clearly a plan B was called for.

WILLY ARRIVES

We have just retrieved Willy from down south and prepare the old shed as a barn. We lay down pallets in the center bay and stack a load of hay for the winter. The old 8x8x4 crates helicoptered to the site after Saudi Arabia serve as our first tack room. We trim off some rotten wood... add a few new boards and throw a black tarp over everything to keep out the wind and snow. Not beautiful but functional. Willy didn't mind.... but the gravel bottom to the stall kept getting deeper and deeper with every cleaning.

PILE DRIVER DAY

Now this was an exciting day..... the piles are being driven for the
dock. It took years to get all the pieces together. First apply for
the Army Corp. Permit, survive the public hearings ("... he will kill
all the fish in the harbor!"), appeal initial rejections of
consistency with the Coastal Zone Management Plan (... well... if
everyone in Alaska built a dock like mine then the habitat for Salmon
would be seriously jeopardized and make impossible Fish and Game's
management of the resource!"), refloat the old Cost Guard Dock, then
retrieve the old cast off floating ramp from Taku Harbor, put all
the pieces together on the beach, and wait for Bob File. The luckiest
part was getting Bob File to assemble his old gear together, get it
running, and come on out and drive the piles. A fabulous job......
just fabulous......, he accomplished so much with so little, so
smartly.

THE BEGINNING

Here is how it all started. We anchored the Kiki Dee in front and
lived aboard while the work on the frame began. The timbers were chain
saw milled where they fell on Shelter Island and towed to the front
beach where they were stacked and worked by the trained crew flown in
from Maine. All lived on site in a large army tent and were fed by a
cook we hired. It was a great summer with lots going on.... and
little conception of the amount of work ahead us.