''his steel-hulled motor sailboat.''

Why are you posting this on a sailing NG?

SV




"jlrogers±³©" wrote in message
. com...
http://www.vvdailypress.com/2005/110804491475014.html


Ed Stringer's dream now weighs some 25,000 pounds, spans more than
48 feet
in length, and was handmade from stem to stern.

It took him more than six years to complete.

"It was a love-hate project because there was so much to be done,"
Stringer
said of his steel-hulled motor sailboat. "A lot of people start
these
projects, but very few of us actually finish it."

The Stringers plan to move from their arid 80-acre ranch in Lucerne
Valley
to the more humid climate of the sea's surface. The ship was moved
to its
new home at a marina in Long Beach last Tuesday.

Stringer and his wife, Sandra, hope to raise anchor on the "Adory"
and set
sail for several of the islands off California by summer.

After that their travel itinerary includes diving off the shores of
the
Caribbean, sipping coffee on their deck as they look out at the
Alaskan
coastline, sailing across the Atlantic and dropping anchor in
Hawaii —
sometimes with friends and family.

Ed Stringer developed a love of boating when he worked as a
commercial
abalone diver in the early 1960s. Over the years his ocean fever
gained
momentum and his yearning to retire on a boat and travel the seas
engulfed
him.

"I've been living in the High Desert for 20 years now, always hoping
to get
back on a boat," Stringer said. "This is perfect."

But it wasn't cheap.

Stringer said he stopped keeping count of the cost of building the
ship a
long time ago out of "fear of shock," but estimates it at more than
$100,000.

"As I became more and more aware I couldn't afford what I really
wanted, I
contemplated building one," Stringer said.

He began designing and building it in 1999, with Sandra adding the
feminine
touches.

"It has always been a dream of his," Sandra Stringer said. "So we
got
together to design the inside. There were only a few things I asked
for."

Her requests included a useful galley, bright lighting and a
comfortable
atmosphere where her children and grandchildren could always feel at
home.

"We wanted a boat to suit our purpose to a 'T' and here we are," Ed
Stringer
said.

The two are now planning out the rest of their lives in conjunction
with one
ocean adventure after another.

"Sailing into a port is much different than flying into one," Ed
Stringer
said. "We're not ever really going to be tourists because our house
is will
be on our back all the time."

Gretchen Losi may be reached at 951-6233 or
.

--



jlrogers±³©
Beaten by George W. Bush! Now that's funny!