My boat and oar. I don't have a name for her, yet.

Layer one. I put one more layer on top to make the boat more bouyant.

Das boat is done.

I have had enormous issues with my internet. Once the problem was fixed in my trailer, my computer basically "pooped the bed." It took a while to recover. Since then, we have been handed a stricter blogging policy (a company-specific thing, not an MNC-I thing), and I sort of lost interest in blogging, altogether.

I feel bad about leaving everybody in the dark, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. It's hard to blog when you don't feel like it. I haven't felt like it. I still don't feel like it. I'll do it anyway.

I wanted to update you on the boat-building competition:

Dan and I finished our boats yesterday, and we built our oars today. We are both extremely pleased with our results. We're going to have a team party Saturday, and that is when we will launch the boats for the first time. I hope we don't get wet. I've begged Dan to add one or two more pontoons to his boat for balance/buoyancy, but he's happy with what he has. His boat is quie impressive, made entirely of bottles and tape. Go, Dan!!! Mine is made of sandbats, 550 cord, and bottles. I'm not sure I have enough surface area to keep my butt dry, but I will pray I do. Haha. It will be fun, and we'll bring a change of clothes, just in case.

My Boat Statistics:

25 sand bags

240 water bottles

55" x 41" x 13"

oar = 8'

150' of 550 cord

To make the oar end, I butterflied two water bottles, sewed them together, and then sewed them onto a piece of wood. The tape reinforces the holes I had to cut for the cord.

Here's the end, lashed to the wood. And this is a water bottle, wrapped around the wood for a padded handle.

Dan, taping his bottles together. His boat is cool. It's very symmetrical and aesthetically pleasing.

He's a tall guy...and that's a small boat...

Two rafts, in a head-to-head competition.