A cruiser's day on the hard.

After a rather touching and fun party at Boulder last night (see Deb's post) today started out as just another cruiser's day on the hard. I say that like I have any idea what a "cruiser's day on the hard" actually is; seeing as I haven't been cruising yet. But I read the blogs and hear the stories; bottom paint, repairs, upgrading equipment, replacing systems...and doing it all in an unfamiliar place. Kintla is getting the same kind of treatment though, to be truthful, Tradwinds isn't all that unfamiliar. We have some history here and Craig (manager of said Tradewinds) has done everything possible to aid our efforts to get going. (I'm kind of hoping this is a normal thing among marina managers, or at least among the ones we run across in the next few years.)

Then, leaving the clubhouse this morning I passed an ASA 101 class gathered around charts and books, prepping for their second day on the lake. The sudden rush of deja vu was intense and somehow two different times, separated by more than six years, become the same moment. My beginner self was sitting among the class, leaning over the unfamilar charts and trying to think like a sailor. Glancing up he took note of his future self deep into final preparations for departing land, maybe not a sailor yet but knowing enough sailor things to get started. And for just that moment it seemed clear that this was always going to happen, that this particular current in our life was simply too strong to avoid.

That thought changed the entire day's complexion, though soon my present self was shoulder deep in work once again. While I concentrated my efforts in the stern Deb puzzled over finding places below for the few things we still own; few compared to the collection of just a few weeks ago, that is. It still seems like a lot of stuff for 400 square feet of living space, but she was working some kind of magic and bag after bag dissapeared into Kintala without things leaking out the ports or bulging through the hatches.

Taking advantage of having another set of hands available to help fit wind vane parts too ungainly to handle alone seemed a good way to spend my day. Slow but steady progress was made and the transfer tube foward supports are cut, fitted, and temporarily bolted in place. Next will be fitting the tower and getting those supports cut, fitted, and temporarily bolted in place as well. When everything is temporarily bolted in place and it all looks right then, and only then, will everything be made permanent. And that may wait until the boat is back in the water and it can be verified that all is as it should be in refrence to the water line. We'll see, but for today we are pretty content with the progress made.

Or maybe we are just content to be at this place and doing this thing. Either way, tomorrow will be day 2 of living on a boat full time. I think I'll spend it sanding on the hull.