Building Mohawk Valley

Here we are, standing on the banks of the Erie Canal in beautiful Mohawk Valley, ready to install our latest project. Pretty nice for a day at the office, right? But there’s lots of work that went on to get us to this moment at the Mohawk Valley Welcome Center, starting with Barbara’s design of an ADA-compliant structure that would highlight the region’s historical significance. In fact, this year marks the 200th anniversary of the start of the Erie Canal and our project is part of an ongoing celebration of that milestone.

The next step? Building each component of the shipping inspired structure in the shop in modular pieces to be fully assembled on-site. Here, Rudi stains the deck of the barge before another member of the BBAB crew hand-lashes the rope railings around the edge.

Every barge needs a good navigation system, so Rudi paints a faithful replica of a historical compass for the young captains who will be steering this boat.

Once each part is built in the shop, the next step is to have it shipped clear across the country from our California shop to its New York home.

A massive flat-bed truck with a professional cross-country driver is loaded with the pieces of our Mohawk Valley structure. The final touch is a series of tarps to keep the elements off the precious cargo.

Barbara and the crew head to New York to meet the truck, where a high-powered crane unloads each piece. This boat has ridden on a truck and now flies through the air on its way to solid ground. It’s next voyage will be along the waters of the Erie Canal , albeit only in kids’ imaginary games.

Next week, see finished photos of this charming place to play at the Mohawk Valley Welcome Center.