In 1985 Bill Hable of Bloomer, Wisconsin, started building his perfect boat — a 41-foot, twin-masted schooner — in a backyard shed. The project was supposed to take 10 years, but 32 years later he’s still hard at work.
Now 78, Hable says the boat is 97 percent complete and he hopes to sail it on Lake Superior by the time he is 80.
Hable is proud of building the boat “my way.” He has done all of the work himself, from building a furnace to melt the tons of lead he poured into the keel, to designing his own sweatbox to bend the wooden ribs and installing the white oak planking.
This video from Minneapolis-St. Paul TV station KARE has more:
KARE reports that most recently Hable has been working on the schooner’s cherrywood interior, which includes a dining table, sleeping quarters and a shower.
