"Climb down outta there! We're kicking you out!" Charlotte's voice rang in through a porthole from the top of the ladder, where she was grinning from ear to ear. "It's moving day!"
This was Sunday, July 8th. Sue hadn't had the best of days. It was hot in the shed, it was hot in the boat, and she had spent the morning rubbing teak oil on the cabin walls, shelves, compartments, drawers, doors, grab handles, and trim pieces. Curtis finished another project and joined her in teak oiling, but because it was hot and Sue was grumpy, Curtis's technique (which was, in retrospect, perfectly fine) rubbed her the wrong way. Things were threatening to get even more heated in the small boat space, so Sue put down her bottle and rag and went for a long walk, looking for wildflowers to photograph.
In the meantime, Curtis went on a short walk to talk with Mikey and Charlotte about the refit schedule, which was, to be honest, dragging on a bit. A few jobs had been started, but the bulk of the list was languishing. It was a productive talk, and the schedule is now looking much better. (Bittersweet Landing Boatyard stores and services 239 boats of all sizes and stripes, and because of Maine's short summer season, this time of year is a virtual marathon of boat prep, refit, launching, and other projects. It's no wonder that schedules are hard to keep, but we were growing a bit tired of life in the shed.)
So, around 5 pm, Mikey and Charlotte arrived with the heavy-duty boat-moving forklift and trailer to move
Cilantro out of the shed and up to Boat Bay 4. Bay 4 is rather like an airplane hangar, with a high ceiling (built out of clean wooden trusses instead of plastic sheeting over aluminum tubing), skylights, and a door on both ends, allowing breezes to wander through. We have filtered sunlight in the morning, and a serenade of bullfrogs in the evening. It is a much more comfortable space to sleep, eat, and work. We are finishing the interior teak oiling and starting to prep for varnishing the brightwork. The engine is lifted and awaiting driveshaft length adjustments for the new propeller. It feels good to be making progress.
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| Cilantro is prepped for the move |
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| Nosing out of the shed |
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| The whole boat! |
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| Mikey drives her into her new "digs" |
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| View west from the cockpit in Bay 4 |
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| View east from the cockpit in Bay 4 |
