Sailing into retirement

For the past 15 years, a transformation has been taking place inside a barn at the end of a gravel parking lot in Hugo, Minn. Slowly, patiently, Bill Mueller has built his 52-foot sailboat, starting with only the outside shell. He installed all of the mechanical parts and designed the interior cabin. With roots as an artist, Mueller even painted the boat's name on the outside -- "Eos," the Greek goddess of the dawn. Last Thursday, Bill and Sylvia Mueller of Roseville -- together with more than 30 family and friends -- successfully launched Eos in Lake Superior near Duluth. They spent the following days tweaking details on the boat. The Muellers will wait out the rough winter waters and expect to set sail in the spring.

Their destination? Wherever the wind leads them. They will sell their Roseville house and car, and have no plans to return.

"Sell up and sail away," said Sylvia Mueller, 62, chuckling over the old sailor's saying. "It's amazing how freeing it is."

They will store the boat near Lake Superior for the winter, and then sail through the Great Lakes toward the Atlantic Ocean this spring. From there, they plan to head south and visit some of the islands south of the United States.

After that, Europe might look appealing. But they don't want the adventure to be dictated by plans.

"Being a sailor, I've been less inclined to go where I want to go," said Bill Mueller, 72. "I want to look at the weather, seasons, and be willing to go there."

35,000 hours of work

Both the Muellers are experienced sailors, having been on White Bear Lake countless times. They also have sailed Lake Superior and the English Channel. Bill grew up watching his father build a sailboat, and years later he bought his own, teaching Sylvia to sail.

Bill, who worked as a freelance artist, distinctly remembers the day Sylvia called him from her job as a software manager for Unisys, wondering about their eventual retirement.

"She said, 'We have to do something with ourselves,'" Bill said. "She was at least half of why we're doing this."

They purchased the boat's hull -- the outer shell -- from a seller in California, and they sold their "toys," including a sports car. Bill went to work designing and building a miniature model of the boat. He reworked segments of the model multiple times until it was perfect.

And then the building of the actual boat began.

"People ask me, 'Where did the last 15 years go?'" Bill said. "I say, 'Well, that's a long story.'"

Bill estimates he put about 35,000 hours of work into the sailboat. For 15 years, seven days a week, he would spend mornings reading about and studying boat building. Then, he would spend the rest of the day working on the boat. Any remaining hours at night were devoted to more studying.

Frequently, he would wake up in the middle of the night, determined to find a solution to a nagging issue.

Bill said he "had a suspicion" he'd be this dedicated to boat building after watching his father work on his boat. But he's thankful he loves what he does, recognizing that many people spend their lives doing a job they dislike.

Started from scratch

Though enjoyable, the work was often tedious. The boat's cabin, which includes a kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms, a sitting area and a work room, is designed to be as efficient and spacious as possible. Storage is packed along the sides and under seats. The boat's machinery is neatly tucked under the floor and behind walls. Its steering is semiautomatic, and computers, sonar radar, a satellite phone and Internet will keep them on course.

"Bill viewed this as a challenge as to how safe he could make the boat," said Wayne Pitmon, a fellow sailor and friend who helped with the boat's woodwork.

Pitmon said this building project -- from basic shell to fine-tuned cruiser -- is unique. Some people rebuild old boats, but Bill started from scratch.

"I think it was a challenge from a technical standpoint to be able to do so much of the design himself, and actually do the work," he said.

If something came along that stumped Bill as he worked, he would set it aside until later, often calling on friends or specialists for suggestions. Bill said they had "absolutely wonderful" help from friends, but most of the work was done by him.

The couple, who have no children, held a boat party at the Hugo barn a week before they launched. Nearly 200 people came to see what had been created these last 15 years.

Bill and Sylvia will mostly sail as a duo, but they expect to pick up friends and family along the way for vacation stints. They also plan to take friends who have earned "frequent sailing miles" for the work they have put into the boat, Sylvia said.

The Muellers are excited to meet locals as they travel around the world. They expect to cruise for a few days and dock for up to two weeks in different countries.

But as always, they will figure it out as they go along.

Michelle Ma • 612-673-7512

Michelle Ma • mma@startribune.com