Winter (blacks &) blues

Some of the snow melted over the weekend but it is getting cold again this week. Instead of making it out to the boat Deb and I started the big floor project. Digging into a major project is both fun and helps the winter pass. It can also make for some sore limbs, torn callouses and bruised fingers. After all these years of swinging hammers and working with tools and I still manage to catch a finger once in a while. About 20% of the new floor is down, which, considering the prep work before and the trim work after, makes me guess about 30% of the job is done.

After working all day we have spent short evenings debating various mono-hulls. If we ever find the cash a Catamaran is definitely the boat of choice, a Leopard 38 being top dog at the moment. (Couldn't resist the play with words, sorry.) In the mono-hull, pretending that price doesn't matter debate, I've taken up the Dufour flag. The sleek deck and cabin have won me over. Deb is rooting for the Gozzard. She really likes the interior of that boat with its convertible V-berth / lounge / dining area. (I have to admit that it is pretty trick.) And back closer to the real world the Gozzard may actually be a viable option some day. A solid, well made boat with various models that have been around for a while...there are some really attractive Gozzards for sale at prices that don't quite take one's breath away.

If we were looking at cars this would be called, "tire kicking." I'm not sure what the proper slang is when referring to sailboats. "Hull gazing," or "sheet yanking" maybe? Whatever they call it there are a lot of nice boats out there. I think, when the time comes, we will certainly find the right boat for us. Deb disagrees. She thinks we are going to find the right boat long before we think the time has come.