Pullin' The Pin, Pickin' The Place, Packin' The Parts, Crammin' The Crannies, Prayin' For Progress And The Final Frantic Futility.

Here we are, close. I am supposed to be happy about all that dream crap. All I am is tired, staring at the fog of the future searching for images that are as ephemeral as the fog itself. Maybe the fog is all we get. I sure am in one. There is much to do.

Rocky, the reluctant draggin' upholsterer, had his own adventures trying to get the cushions finished. He ran out of snaps. I no longer listen to his promises.

​Meanwhile, we get no breaks. I may or may not have a trailer to transport the boat. I'll find out for sure on Tuesday on the Thursday rental. What could possibly go wrong?

I'm putting the galley together. We test fit the stove a year or two ago. It was time to put it in and leave it in. I just had to install the side pieces to lock it in and keep it from swinging. The friggin' stove absolutely, positively would not fit through the hatch! Oh great, another plan gone awry. What to do, what to do? Oh crap, take it apart enough so we can hook an edge around the coaming much like you get a couch through the door of your house. I started taking screws off. The battery box was toast. This powers the sparker to light the stove. I ordered a new one. I broke off a terminal that goes to the button that activates the spark. I had to drive 10 miles to town to get a female side mount spade terminal. The stove was dirty, so I scrubbed what I took off. Budge and I wrangled the partially disassembled stove into the galley. So a day's work, a parts run and nigh onto a half dozen cuts from sharp sheet metal got the stove back together. I wrestled the stove in place. Only one person fits in the galley, so it was a solo operation. Of course, I jammed it catawampus and with much vigorous bowelship language, I got the thing in place. So it goes, with more adventure right around the corner. 

Now all we have to do is hook up the propane. The connection is behind the stove. The battery box, when it comes in, goes underneath. I ain't thinking about it.

Budge futzed with the masts. Each mast has two halyards. They all go up and down, east and west. One halyard control each end of the gaff. Budge lashed the blocks to the mast tops. He left one lashing longer so the end of the gaff can swing and not interfere with the other halyard. Overall the masts are ready. All the stays are on and labeled as are the halyards. Each halyard is a different color so dopes like me get it right when someone says "Pull the red one". "No, the other red one."

I worked on catches and latches for galley doors and drawers.  I used a couple of rubber feet that Ben pulled off a dead bread machine as feet to keep the under sink tilt-out in the correct position.

I pulled out the six stainless pins that connected the beams to the hulls. We now can remove the beams.

A trip to the metal fabricators with our stainless steel tubing produced a footed mast for the wind generator and a couple side supports to support two solar panels. Five hours labor at 50 bucks an hour. I need a drink! The whole thing still needs reinforcing.

I started rounding up everything that I had stored in boxes and bags and started putting the stuff into nooks, crannies and crevasses in various hull cabins. We will transport it in place. I just have to make sure all is well secured. Aft starboard cabin has boat parts. fore cabin has tools. I used Ben's old t-shirts to wrap things. Clothes and such in Port fore cabin. Kitchen stuff goes in galley. Simple (HAH!).

The Music♪: Archie Fischer "Mally Leigh"

We're all gone East and West...........................................................