What a difference a week, a day, an hour or even a minute can make in our lives, sometimes. From a passing train, the whole countryside appears to be moving and for an observer in that countryside, it’s only the train that’s traveling. It feels to me like we’ve turned a corner and we’re now on the home stretch of the marathon of projects that we need to get done before we realize our November 1st departure. There’s still a boat load of projects to get done but it’s good to be on the downhill side of things. As we zoom towards our launch day we’re sprinting through projects, trying to complete the things that can only be done when the boat is on the hard. At the same time we’re doing our very best with each and every project, knowing that Gypsy will soon become our home as well as our main mode of transportation.Meet me at the marina - I took a half-day vacation midweek and met Susan at the boat. We got there at noon, worked until seven and had a very productive session. Susan finished compounding the hull and I finished painting the mast. Both projects came out well and we left the yard at the end of the day with that warm tiredness and feeling of accomplishment that comes from simple manual labor, applied with loving care.
Magical Power, marvelous action!
Chopping wood, carrying water.
(Unknown Chinese author)
Chopping wood, carrying water.
(Unknown Chinese author)
It was a musically rich week for us. Thursday night we traveled up to Northampton Mass to chant with Snatam Kaur, a very gifted and spiritual being. Click on this link if you’re interested in hearing some of her practice. Then Friday night we saw John Prine in New Haven for what was one of the best concert experiences I’ve ever had.
It was back to work in the boat yard for us on Saturday.
We arrived at the marina to this beautiful foggy shoreline scene. The fog lasted all day until just moments before sundown. It felt like we were working underwater all day long.
At five o’clock I paused to photograph the fog enveloped docks. Then just two hours later the sky started to clear for the first time that day, gifting us with a lovely sunset. What a difference a few moments can make in a day, in ones life.
We spent the night on Gypsy in order to get an early start the next morning. A clearing cold front moved in overnight that presented us with a cool and crisp morning.
We got the deck bracket mounted for our new moveable inner-forestay and I was very pleased with how that turned out. (This is the bracket set that Conrad at Mystic Stainless made for us.)
The photo below shows the below-deck angle bracket that will transfer the mast & sail loads to the chain locker bulkhead. This bracket is out of sight in the small compartment that the windless motor resides in.
This last photo is of the backing plate that sits in the chain locker. I had previously applied 4 layers of fiberglass matt to the bulkhead on this side in order to increase its strength.
Susan practiced her yoga in order to enter the lazzerette (aft most storage locker) where she disassembled, cleaned, lubricated, and then reassembled the port scupper drain seacock. Not only did Susan have to work in a very confined space, she had to work by feel alone on some parts of the valve that she couldn’t see. Seacocks (thru hull valves) are one of those ordinary things on a boat that can sink or save you depending on how you treat them.Every time we leave the boat yard we do so with a strong reluctance. It’s hard to leave when there is still so much to be done. It’s also hard to leave our beautiful waterfront setting and Gypsy. Working on the boat with Susan is the most satisfying project that I’ve ever done; it’s hard to leave that too…
174 days...
