Keith Black

MW, welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard.

Eric, I hide my computer under my mattress.

LOL 🤣

Thank you, Keith. Thank you, Craig. Tom, thank you dear brother. Thank you, Phil. Thank you, mcb. When fighting the small letters for New York I decided then and there that transfer lettering was an invention of the devil with the intent of trying a man's patience. It's hard keeping my hands off Lula.

Thank you, Jacques. Thank you, Bob. Your thoughts and prayers mean the world to me. Thank you, Glen. I fell in love with Lula on first sight that's for sure. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you, Eric. If I had another the years of good health I don't know if I'd be able to get my sister up to speed considering I'm still trying to get myself up to speed. There is a bit of Lady and the Tramp about them. Thank you, Chris. Thank you, Gary.

Good to see some progress on this project, Keith. You're well on your way to making a nice model out of this.

Cutting that hull in half is like jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. It looks like it turned out great, Glen.

Thank you all for your kind comments, thoughts, support and especially your prayers. This evening was the last I'll be working on Lula for awhile. I need to direct my attention to getting the house and Maggie squared away for the upcoming events. My youngest sister is coming up from Arkansas to be here should I need surgery to help Maggie and to help me during recovery so I need to get a bedroom ready for her. The inspiration and Lula the pile driver tender. Unfortunately I missed capturing the quirkiness of the original Lula though I think I was able to replicate a little of her spirit. The necessary enlargements of the engine room and the pilothouse (because of the stove) eliminated the quirkiness that I was originally drawn to. To carry out the task of a tender Lula had to be redesigned but I tried to minimize that. Maybe someday, Lord willing, I'll try to build Lula the car ferry. On the forward wall I placed the levers as close to the windows as possible where i could add "New York" below Lula. For whatever reason the letters wouldn't transfer. Seven little letters, after two hours I threw in the towel If I try again I'll need to order another sheet of letters. I still need to add a bell and steam whistle to the front of the pilothouse. I need to add railing and two more lanterns, attach the dinghy, and add weathering/grunge. Lula and the pile driver, a tender love story. Thank you again, guys. i consider each and everyone of you as family and you make my world a better place. Keith

Thank you, Bob. Thank you, Tom. Thank you, John.

Thank you, Tom.

Thank you, Jacques. Thank you, Ken. I'm praying for both you and your wife. How long has your aortic heart valve been leaking and are you going to have surgery? Thank you, Kurt and please tell Mary "thank you".

As long as it's not Mary I'd be happy to oblige.

Thank you so very much, Bob.

Thank you, Paul.

Thank you, Pat. Thank you, Vossie Thank you, Eric. Thank you, Glen. Thank you, Eberhard. Thank you. LJP Thank you, Gary. Thank you guys for you kind comments and thoughts. The pilot house is ready for trim which I hope to get added today leaving the lettering transfer and hanging the rear PH door. Thank you to everyone for your support. Keith

It's good to see you back, John.

Wowie kazowie, Glen. That looks fantastic!

I may as well get into this....... five years ago I had a stent put in my abdominal aorta while undergoing an operation repair an aneurysm that at the time measured 6.4 cm. I've been going for Ultrasound testing annually since the operation with the aorta measuring 5.9 cm every year till my last visit on Tuesday. They think and I stress thy think I've developed an endoleak and the sack is currently measuring 6.4 cm, so we're back to where we were five years ago. I have a CT scan scheduled for April 30th to verify the above. I might not have a leak or I could be about to blow? They almost lost me on the operating table five years ago and now, here we are five years later and I'm five years older and I sure don't heal any faster now. If I do in fact have a endoleak I will require surgery, when that surgery takes place is anyone's guess but I would hope it would be sooner than later. I won't know anything for sure till the 30th. Having said the above, I've put Lula on a fast track to get as much done as possible prior to the 30th and that's while doing things around the house to help ensure Maggie's current and future welfare. I wouldn't have said anything but future actions regarding Lula might lead some of you to scratch your heads wondering about my motives behind certain decisions. Keith

Thank you, Eric. Yes, it's a milestone I've looked forward to reaching for what seems like a long time. I only have the one photo of Lula. The view through the starboard side windows suggest to me they were individual windows and the spacing between the windows suggest that there were only three. That's my interpretation, I could be dead wrong but this is what we're gonna roll with as I need to jump into overdrive on this build. More later regarding that at a later time.

Bruce, it could be that the toilet was used often enough that the water never had a chance to freeze? Hey, praying your surgery goes well and that you recover quickly.

Thank you to everyone for the comments and likes. Speaking of comments, you guys sure were worried about Captain Bill. If any of you had figured out who his famous uncle was you wouldn't be so worried about his ability to withstand the rigors of ship life. It was time get some walls up. I was trying to build the pilot house where it could be lifted free but alas it wasn't to be. The walls are glued to one another but not glued to the floor plates as of yet. I won't glue the pilothouse down till all the trim, roof, door, and Lula's name have been added I think Lula the car ferry only had three windows on the forward wall. If I had only put in three windows there would have been a lot of blind spots so I put in four, what the heck. I've added some curve to the top plates but I think a little more is required, Captain Bill is gonna be snug as a bug. Thank you for the support and for following along. Keith

What could be better, you're a lucky man, Mr Bob.

I'm sorry to hear about your stroke, Bryan. I pray you recover fully but at the very least regain some of what you've lost. I had a stroke in 2017 and my left hand was completely paralyzed but through prayer and the grace of God plus dogged determination I've regained about 95% usage of my left hand.Don't give up the ship, there is hope and light at the end of this dark tunnel. Keith

Beautiful work, Paul.

I pray you heal up quickly, Mark.