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I’ve been spending my days of late sanding teak, sawing through fiberglass, and drilling and tapping stainless steel backing plates.  It’s just like being in the workyard in Mexico, except with three major differences:

1: It’s 50 degrees instead of 115 degrees

2: There are hardware stores! And they actually carry hardware!

3: At the end of the week, I have more money than I did at the beginning of the week.

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERAI’ve got to say it’s never felt so good to be working on a boat.  Granted, there’s no extended cruise waiting for us at the end of the workyard tunnel, but I have found joy again in my labors.  I love to be around boats, and this new job affords me that.  For eight hours a day, I poke and prod and scrape and cut and pry and sand and glue and tear apart and slowly rebuild boats.  It is an incredible endeavor.

And each day, I learn more, which is of course the purpose of life.  I’m learning about new materials, new tools, new techniques, all which make me a better craftsman.  And the crew that surrounds me is a phenomenal bunch of boatmen and boatwomen, and if only through osmosis, let alone actual apprenticeship, I will ultimately become a better seaman.

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Now I just need a woodshop at my fingertips, and I think I’ll be ready to dive into a project…maybe building a sea kayak or a sailing dinghy?  Or perhaps buying a project boat?  Did I mention our new house (keep those fingers crossed, people, we haven’t closed yet) has a full basement that looks perfect for a boat building workshop?

 

 

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