Boat maintenance continues as we keep this beauty afloat. New propellers are giving her improved power to combat high winds and current. See photos from the past two work weekends below!

The newly rebuilt engine is installed. Drawings are in progress for stages and canopies. Can’t wait to test out the new steering mechanisms!

Paul and Jimmy have been working on new steering mechanisms! They're mounted on articulating trailer jacks so's we can pull them up if we get into the shallows. Can't wait to test these out.

Dear Backers of the Relentless,

Now that we've worked together as a group to fund this project, we have the Relentless in common. We have adventure, vision, and hard work in common. It warms my heart to know that there is such a large community of folks who believe in art and collaboration enough to put their money on it. I know that all of our lives have been somehow changed when Chicken took each of us "under his wing" in some way or another. He offers us something we can't find anywhere else and that's a special brand of adventure that cannot be predicted. And why? Well, it's all for fun! It's so that you and I and anyone who happens upon us can have something unique and well, just different, in our lives. That's why we do what we do and that's why it's completely worth it. We are building the world we want to live in. It's an adventure in ideas that has brought all of us together. I'm looking forward to sharing more of the best parts of life with all of you.

Much love,

Anja

The maiden voyage of The Relentless took place the weekend and week of August 24th in the Sacramento River Delta where a collection of like minded adventurers dropped anchor for a unique gathering. In the middle of the channel near Mandeville Tip County Park we joined a group of boaters interested in exploring the political and social freedoms of life on the water. The growing movement and interest in seasteading http://seasteading.org/ was the topic on all of our minds.

The Artstead is our exploration of life and art on the water. It took a dedicated crew of extremely talented individuals to get this girl moving and we are so pleased with the results. We were thrilled to have world class performers like Jason Webley http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Webley and Miriam from Vau-De-Vire Society headlining the Saturday night show. Jason had the whole festival singing and dancing along with his accordion. There was even a spontaneous dance to an accordion cover of Micheal Jackson's "Thriller." Miriam performed on the trapeze suspended out over the water and actually splashed the audience during her act!

Now we're back at the boat yard and gearing up to make the trip through the Carquinez Strait and into the San Francisco Bay. This will require some more work including better steering mechanisms and fine tuning of Chicken John's http://chickenjohn.wordpress.com/ signature Mercedes long-tail engine.

As of today we have 9 days to reach our funding goal or we get zero of the pledged funding. Please feel free to forward this to anyone you know who might want to get involved by backing the project!

Photography and updates by Anja Ulfeldt

Hello supporters of fun and possibilities!

We are forever in your debt for being crazy enough to love this idea. The ability to see potential is our greatest asset and the fuel on which we run. Against all logic we have cleared our calendars and turned down actual paid work because we feel that this visionary idea is important enough to literally loose sleep over. We are looking forward to announcing show dates this summer and fall.

At this time we have exactly 30 days to reach our funding goal so if you know anyone who might see something in this endeavor please do forward this message! If we don't reach the goal we get zero funding. Chicken is threatening to wash cars in a bikini on Army Street and believe me nobody wants that. Yikes!

Many thanks and much love,

The Artstead boat Project Crew

Hello Friends of the Artstead Boat Project,

First off I would like to thank everyone who has supported us so far. The Boat is back in the water and insured!!!

We will be organizing two work days this coming week for those folks who want to get involved with the transformation of the boat!

Work days are as follows:

Monday July 12th 10am-5pm
Tuesday July 13th 10am-5pm

Work days will be held at Diablo Boat Works in Bethel Island. Please RSVP for more info and directions. anja@ulfeldt.com

Looking forward to seeing you on the boat!

All the best,

Anja

"The Relentless" is scheduled to float today before sunset if all goes well. This is a big day for all of us who have been kicking butt in the boat yard and getting our hands (and faces) all kinds of dirty. Whoo hoo!

http://artstead.tumblr.com/

We're headed out to the boatyard for another days work under the boat. Whew!

Special thanks to everyone who has contributed so far. You make it all possible!