Five days in the yard.

Midnight, Dillingham, Alaska.

We fear things in proportion to our ignorance of them.

~ Christian Nestle Bovee

I am Daniel Son, Fred is Mr. Miyagi.

Paint the decks, scrub the hulls, strip the lines, clean the engine compartment, mend nets, stencil the boat, wash the dishes, install the water pump, clean the filters, the list goes on and on.  

My apprenticeship as a deckhand aboard a Bristol Bay gill netting boat has begun in earnest and I am in full leaning mode.  For a guy who knows next to nothing about boats, nor the ocean, tearing the F/V Potential  apart and putting it back together over and over again helps me bond with this vessel that I am going to be calling home for the next eight weeks. The intimate familiarity I am gaining with the craft helps calm my healthy fears of fishing the ocean as I slowly discharge of my long list of unknowns.  Call me superstitious, but I believe that if throw my heart and soul at this vessel in preparation, the labor of love will keep me and the crew safe when we are out in the shit trying to catch a few fish. 

Kloshe konaway

Kloshe nanitch

Matt 

F/V Potential AKA  The Pha Q 

Birdshot is just for fun. Things really don't get serious in Dillingham until you shoot your buddy's truck with buckshot.   

 Price check on isle three please.  Dillingham is a long way from anywhere and it cost a few bucks to get things here.

 My summer ride.  I can't wait for a day off to explore as far as the gravel will take me.

Miyagi

 Alaskan winters are hard on old boats, but the  F/V Potential fired up on the first pull and is running strong.

 Mihn's boat, the Quickset II

 Good clean liven'

Practical jokes are already amping up and the season hasn't even started yet. 

Dave Bowen would be proud.  Tight freehand stencil by the Redhead. 

Fifteen six and a pair for eight.

 Mechanical #1:  Thirty-six year old shaft on our main drum is a little worn down.

 Icicle Foods in Dillingham will be weighing our catch and writing us checks this summer.  You can also send me cookies and whisky at: F/V Potential  PO Box 1810 Dillingham, AK 99576

My First Mate Fred owns The Brickhouse Cafe and Saloon in SF and has got some mad skills.  It is rumored that we are the best fed crew in Dillingham. 

Every boat name has a story, and some are a little more interesting than others. 

This has to come off and I am not quite sure how to go about it.

Art project day one. 

 It was just a small bear, say 200-300 pounds.

Jenny and Mom; don't worry, they are feeding me well!

If Carmen could talk, I reckon she would have story to tell.