[narrator]<i> In South Carolina's
Lowcountry,</i> <i> where dense maritime forests
dominate the coast,</i> <i> the timber's nothing
like what's found</i> <i> at Eustace Conway's
Blue Ridge homestead.</i> <i> But for a mountain man
far from home,</i> <i> it's packed with opportunity.</i> [Eustace]<i> So this was
the Sea Eagle.</i> [narrator]<i> Today's,
he's partnering</i> <i> with his old friend,
Jase Kindred,</i> <i> on an urgent repair job that
needs his skill and expertise.</i> -What's goin' on?
-How about it, Craig? -How you doin', brother?
-Good to see you. Hey, I'd like to introduce you
to Eustace Conway here. Eustace, this is Craig.
Craig, this is Eustace. Heard a lot of good things
about you, Craig. Good to meet you. Well, Craig's hirin' us
to do two jobs at the Sea Eagle. First one is to repair
the dock where it's saggin' down <i> and the frame members
have gotten too old.</i> Let's see what the problem is. <i> And the second one
is something</i> <i> about a boat lift,
like building a frame</i> <i> to pick up a boat in the air.</i> <i> First thing I wanna do
is look at the dock</i> and just see
what the real job is, what it entails, how bad it is. So, out on the dock here, this is the unloadin' slip. So when the shrimp boats
come in, they tie up right here. This is the most used area and it's also the area
that has the most stress. -The more I see it, the better.
-All right, great. [narrator]<i> Craig's a fisherman
who manages the dock</i> <i> where dozens
of the Lowcountry's</i> <i> iconic shrimp boats
haul in their catch every day.</i> <i> High trafficked
and battered by saltwater,</i> <i> its failing timbers are
an accident waiting to happen.</i> Oh yeah, I see,
that's already sagging. That timber right there
is like twisted in, that one's hangin' down. Does that look level
right there? I'd say you're lookin'
at about eight inches. We need to jack it up
eight inches, and we'll fix it with those
serious homegrown timbers. [narrator]<i>
The secret weapon they'll use</i> <i> to carry out the job
is a hundred-year-old sawmill</i> <i> that they recently acquired...</i> Let's do it. [narrator]<i> ...assembled...</i> -All right, let's cut some wood!
-Let's do it. [narrator]<i> ...and immediately
put to work cutting</i> <i> prime yellow pine
from Jase's property.</i> -That's your first board!
-That's it. [Eustace]<i> It's really
in bad shape right now</i> <i> from just all the use
over the years, you know,</i> <i>like a lot of weight has gotten
unloaded on that spot</i> and a lot of weather,
a lot of storms have hit it, and so it just needs some
upkeep, little upgrade there. We're gonna be unloadin'
tomorrow, so we-we need this dock fixed. This is critical. Can you... can you do it today? [Jase] Well, with the two of us,
we can probably get this done. -We'll get it done.
-Yes, sir. [narrator]<i> The forests
on the South Carolina coast</i> <i> may not be as diverse
as they are</i> <i> in the Blue Ridge Mountains...</i> That pine would be beautiful. See how big it is
and how straight it is? [narrator]<i> But they're loaded
with yellow pine,</i> <i> a wood so durable,
it's long been used</i> <i> for utility poles
throughout the country</i> <i> and will definitely stand up
to the wear and tear</i> <i> down at the dock.</i> What you need is a tree
big enough that you can get good, solid heart pine
out of the center of it. And the bigger it is,
the more heart it's gonna have, the more boards
you're gonna get out of it. My buddy Jase has got a big job with the Sea Eagle Market
repairin' a dock, and so we're gonna make use
of this mill <i> to be able to custom-saw</i> <i> the big timbers
to support that dock.</i> [Jase] If we get
this stuff done right and get the heart pine
that he's wanting to make it look
like it did originally, then it could open
endless possibilities for people wantin'
this type of stuff. So are we gonna have
to take down the little one in order to get to the big one? See those limbs
that curl out that way? It wants to make it fall
that way, but if it falls that way much, it'll get caught up in the oak. So I'm gonna try
to make it hit right there in that little gap
between that big stump and that bent piece of live oak. Then after I drop that one down, we'll take the big one,
and that'll be where we get most
of the stuff. There's a small tree
in the way of the big tree, <i> and there's no way
that I'm gonna get</i> <i> the big tree down
without hurtin' the small tree,</i> <i> so I thought...</i> [chainsaw revving] <i> ...is let's just</i> <i> cut down the small tree,
get it out of the way,</i> <i> so that there's no damage,
no drama, no danger.</i> Well, there's always
a little danger. [chainsaw whirring] Yeah, those oak limbs
are too strong. If you can get
your trackhoe and just... Give it a little love tap?
All right, I got it. [Eustace]<i> I get Jase
to bring in the trackhoe</i> so he can reach up
and push and influence it. [dramatic music playing] [chainsaw revving] [tree creaking] [laughing] -Yes!
-Oh. [Eustace]<i> Man,
these logs are nice.</i> <i> And so I'm pretty excited
about it,</i> <i> even just seein' it
on the ground here,</i> just gettin' ready
to take it to the mill. -We got 'em!
-Wonderful. -Good teamwork. Thank you.
-Wow, that was awesome. -Right where you wanted it.
-Yes. That's what you call
hittin' the target right there. Can't get any better than that. Gonna be able to
get exactly what we need for Craig Reaves' dock,
and I think he's gonna be very excited
about what we got here. We'll saw 'em up
to the correct lengths, <i> and then we will mill 'em</i> <i> and be able to take 'em
over to the Sea Eagle.</i> Just roll it a little bit. [narrator]<i> The clock is ticking
to break it down</i> <i> and repair the dock
before the day is done.</i> [intense music playing] All right, now, dog it down. This is a nice twelve-footer
right here. <i> Our dimensions for this job,</i> we're lookin'
for five-inch-thick boards <i> that are 14 inches wide</i> <i> and 12 foot long.</i> This is a lot
to handle right here. One thing we know is
it's gonna get the job done. Yup. [grunts] -Shall I go off-bear?
-Yeah, please. [narrator]<i>
There's slim room for error</i> <i> in cutting boards this thick.</i> <i> One mistake can turn
prime heartwood</i> <i> into scrap
in a matter of seconds.</i> [tense music playing] Get a...
get that cant hook on it. All right,
see if you can turn it. Hey, you're catchin' on! I love to see you learn that.
That's cool! [laughs] Yes! We've got like 600-pound logs
we're dealing with. Boy, I tell you, that's
some pretty wood right there. It's beautiful, yeah. That'll be two big beams
right in the middle of that. [narrator]<i> Measure twice
and cut once is key</i> <i> when you only have one shot</i> <i> to get two even boards
from a single log.</i> [saw whirring] [intense music playing] -[grunts]
-That sucker's no baby log. Look how clear this is. -See how nice and strong?
-It's gorgeous. -Yes!
-This is good old Southern pine! Yeah. If you could turn this
right here. Absolutely. You wanna back it up
and roll it over, correct? Yeah. That's right. Yeah, muscle that thing over.
That's good. Perfect. All right, you ready
for me to off-bear? [saw whirring] [intense music playing] This is finished. [grunting] -Woo!
-Whew. Last one.
That's a lot of lumber. It's time to get out
to the dock. We've got to get to work here. All right, let's head
to the Sea Eagle. [dramatic music playing] <i> We hope to lift the dock up</i> <i> about eight inches</i> so we'll have an airspace
to put the heavy timbers under. Close. -Careful.
-Almost. That's all she's got. Is this as level
as you want it right here? Yes, sir. [Eustace]<i> We're drillin' a hole
so that we can attach it</i> <i> with a big steel bolt</i> <i> at the exact place we want it.</i> I believe we're through. [drill whirring] [narrator]<i> Corrosion-resistant
stainless steel rods</i> <i> brace the deck at a height
level with the rest of the dock</i> <i> but they're not strong enough
on their own to finish the job.</i> [mellow music playing] [grunts] [Eustace]<i> Once we jack it up,</i> <i> we can insert
our nice heart pine</i> <i> up underneath it</i> <i>to make a real primary support,</i> <i> and they have to be attachin'</i> <i> to some good pilings
that actually reach</i> <i> deep down in the sea floor.</i> We want to get
this 60-year-old dock to live for another 60 years. All right. There you go. -Ready.
-Ready. We've gotta get this
all the way up in the air and dangle it down
underneath here and thread it under the dock, and then we're gonna use
that winch to pick it up.
Oh, there it goes. Just go over that way
a little bit. [narrator]<i> Weighing in
at nearly 300 pounds each...</i> -All right.<i>
-...once the beams</i> <i> are bolted
beneath the deck floor,</i> <i> they'll bear the load</i> <i> and prevent the platform
from sagging.</i> [dramatic music playing] That's right. Whoa! I'm gonna pull it like this. And then you thread it
up behind there. <i> Sort of like threadin'
a needle.</i> <i> It has to go backwards</i> <i> and then forwards and up
in just the right little hole.</i> All right. -There you go.
-Pull it tight! [grunts] -There we go.
-There we go! -Pick it up, Craig.
-I'll hold it here if you can lift, Mr. Reaves. Hold away. -Hold on, hold on!
-Whoa! That's good! I feel like
we can drill it right there! Let's do it. [drill whirring] [intense music playing] What we're doin' right now
is takin' a stainless steel rod, we're bolting it
to this massive beam that we took
from the forest this morning. It's not goin' anywhere. [narrator]<i> After the first beam
is secure,</i> <i> the second goes in
even easier.</i> [tapping] Craig Reaves,
come check this out. <i> It's really cool that Jase
has got his mill goin' now,</i> <i> and it's really good
that he's able to do</i> <i> such a cool first project
with his new lumber.</i> That looks awesome. That's a heck of a timber. [Eustace]<i> You know,
I love Turtle Island,</i> I love Freedom Camp,
love my home, but it's just exciting
to be in a different place, <i> and I'm glad that we have
a whole 'nother project</i> lined up right here
at the Sea Eagle workin' on the boat lift. Glad we got it done,
now you're ready for the shrimp boats
to come in tomorrow. Yes, sir. Let's have us
a little shrimp boil tonight. Whoa! [laughing] -Thank you.
-Yeah. -Great. We'll follow you.
-Right on. Yeah.
