There is nothing like spring here in Petersburg–especially when the locals are complaining about the lingering winter weather.  I removed the tarp today on the Katahdin and…..what a beautiful boat!!!….and beautiful blue sky, white mountains, soaring eagles, etc….

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Here’s a look northward from my moorage into Frederick Sound–the north wind has just cleaned the mountains off and the summer fishing boats are arriving daily.

Petersburg is strictly a Norwegian town–and this week is the celebration of ‘Constitution Day’ celebrated on the 17th of May.   In 1814, Norway, after 300 years of Danish rule gained her independence when Sweden took over the Danish territories.   Sweden, an ally of England inherited Norway from Denmark, an ally of France, when Napoleon was defeted at Waterloo in 1814–although final independence didn’t occur until 1906.   This date, the proud Norwegians will not forget!

Here we are out of the water–all 140 tons!  What perfect weather!!  And here’s a close-up of the stern sections where we will install the last of 61 planks on my 12 year restoration plan:

and…

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Here is the plank being installed–it’s about 30 feet long, three inches thick and is held in with about 60 galvanized screws, caulked with cotton and oakum and cemented over.  After new zincs are installed, the hull is painted and launched–total time two days and about $10,000!  After all this it’s off to the parade where rain makes no difference to these hearty Norwegians–they just move into the bars!

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Finally, it’s a fashion show–here are some of the traditional Norwgian formal dress.  These outfits reflect the region where the people hail from, take years and thousands of dollars to make–about as much as a tugboat plank.  Next week, it’s back to work on the farm….stay tuned…..