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The Builders

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On May 1st the Marine Link barge arrived with 25 loads of materials and 12 passengers to watch the show.  The road Paul built to the top held on and all but the giant glulam beams were hauled up the hill.  It took about 5 hours and one yard of navi jack (sand and rock mix for concrete) to bolster the ramp to unload the boat.  Costs including the charge for handling on Campbell River terminal was about $12,000 CAD or about $8,500 USD.   With plenty of materials on site, and the second barge scheduled to arrive May 14th, serious construction got underway.  Led by Ben Frieitag, Tyler 1, Tyler 2 and me set to work on foundation posts, it took six or seven, 10 - 12 hour days of work over two separate trips and we're almost there on the longhouse.  Thanks to a huge effort by Paul, Anna and Vicki, the bedrock was exposed and dirt cleared away. The house will be super solid and well connected to mother earth. Stiven the structural engineer made a site visit to insp...
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The Outhouse

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It's cold and very windy outside so I'm sitting inside 1 Hull Island by the wood stove, and thanks to our children's Christmas present I'm hooked into satellite via Starlink. This is the first blog from on the island. So much happening here, and I could use a break to fill you all in. First major development is the outhouse.  After nine years of free range pooping a new era of easy living is here.  Paul dug down six feet to bedrock and lined the huge hole with large rocks to make a massive dump space.  Using some leftover beams from the kitchen, a driftwood post collected years ago by Bill, and too much store-bought materials I built away.  Two trips to Lens for cedar 2 by 4's to finish the roof, a bucket of cedar wood shavings to add post pooping and the place is open for business.  Just need to add more rock around the base, rake a better path, trim some trees to enhance the waterfront view, and order and install the metal roof.  A beautiful place to sit ...
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Breaking News: There is a New Throne!

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This just in from Heidi as she posts the first ever photos uploaded via the newly installed Starlink on Hull Island. The demise of Christopher Geiger's throne has given way to a new model. Book your dates and be among the first to deposit! At the top of Heartbreak Hill They spent Easter feasting on fresh crab hosted by Paul and his wife on their neighboring island. Heidi reports 40 degree weather with a mixture of wind, hail, rain, sun, and high winds. Iconic British Columbia weather for spring. Looking south towards the new bend in the trail The cleared piles making way for cabin build Solar panels with the throne to the left
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Ben the Builder

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I met Ben (our pro builder) at his home in Nanaimo and we headed to Sayward to launch his boat and make the trip to Hull.  Along the way we drove by his cabin on Point Neville to see if it was still there, and to check on his sawmill recovering from a hit by a fallen tree.  All was well so we proceeded to Hull.  Trip from Sayward to Hull took an hour. Ben navigating the mud to locate longhouse aligned true North Together we spent a day and a half establishing the specific location for the long house and first of two cabins.  We wanted to see what the ground conditions would be for pouring the 18 concrete piers that create the long house foundation and 9 piers for each cabin.  Paul had cleared most of the earth and discovered a massive expanse of ground rock.  Ben and I with the excavator, picks, shovels, brushes and hands dug away more dirt and uncovered even more bedrock.  I think the buildings, connected to solid exposed rock will look fantastic! Wit...
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Captain's Log 2024 - Site Development

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  2024.    Another wonderful summer on Hull.  Great participation from family and friends, 7 first time visitors and significant progress towards year round, dry and comfortable living. April 18th - 21st. On our way home from Whistler,  Heidi and I took the Lions Bay Ferry to Vancouver Island and spent the night in Campbell River.  The next day we took a 9:00 am boat taxi from Eve River to Hull for a quick check up and make sure everything's ready for summer living. Last year the water tank was empty, this year it was full but the plastic stop valve had cracked.  I expect the cold winter froze the water left in the valve, it expanded then cracked.  No big deal as we had back-up drinking water to last a few days.  Next trip I'll bring a replacement valve and get it fixed. A small portion of the wood pile had fallen over, but the rest was well covered and dry. The cairn was still standing strong.. has it been three years now? The weather was ge...
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