Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Elvis has left the building and


Trio is in the water. For real. Let us all bow our heads for a moment of silence.
*********

Okay. Here are some pics.

Suzy applying the name to the stern.


Trio in slings, ready to roll.
Trio rolling
A scary moment-- Bob notices that the new (old) zinc at the propeller is cracked. Evan (left) quips "Don't worry, Miss Susan, we'll just put her back up on the hill, and in two or three years, Mr. Bob'll have her ready to go in the water again."
A few of the well-wishers who came for the big event. We had so many people to catch lines when we came into the slip, it was silly. And gratifying.
Our back yard.
Now, to answer your questions:

Yes, we have moved out of the trailer. Hallelujah. And I say again, brothers and sisters, Hallelujah.

Yes, I  will post pictures of the interior of the boat. But it is not quite finished. A divorce was narrowly avoided last week, when I boarded Trio on her first full day in the water, only to discover my hard-working husband removing (by cutting them up) the old rusted stainless-steel water tanks from the bilge. He had not noticed, until it was too late, that the grinding of so much metal was coating EVERY SQUARE CENTIMETER of the boat with grey metallic dust. Everything. All the new paint, all the clean wood, all the vinyl, all the cushions. The interior of every newly cleaned, newly painted storage area. This was not a good day, nor were the several days that followed. But the tanks are out now, and Bob has promised me that this is the last ripping and tearing he's going to do on this boat. I have no choice but to believe him, which let me tell you, is not a very comfortable position to be in. But when I get back there (I'm in Charlotte now, for Easter and to spend some time with my Mom), I will be on the scene daily, and I will have my whip and my tazer with me at all times. Just kidding. I don't have a tazer. 

No, we are not heading off immediately to exotic locales. For one thing, we have to CLEAN THE DAMN BOAT, remember?? For another, there are lots of little and big things yet to be done, including installing the new water tanks, figuring out how many actual "things" like clothes, cooking utensils, tools, books etc., we can fit on the boat, getting that royal blue sail cover off the mainsail, and getting the rigging "tuned" for sailing. That last part can wait forever, as far as I'm concerned, except that I think Kai is going to do it, and I would be happy to have him and Merry (they are engaged now!) come for a weekend. I'm most excited about ditching the blue sail cover. But I digress. What I have requested is that we stay right where we are, in this slip at the boatyard, get settled on the boat, learn some new routines, relax, breathe, watch dolphins, go to the beach, catch crabs, entertain friends and family-- have a home for the first time in five years. Also, and this is not showcasing my most generous tendencies, I want to stroll through that boatyard and watch other people sweat for a change, and I want to look at the blisters on the bottom of their boat and the blisters on their hands and feel bad for them, but not nearly as bad as I'd feel if they were my blisters. I might even put on my work clothes and pitch in and help them for an afternoon. But all the while I will know that our CLEAN, ORDERLY, beautiful boat is safely and finally in the water, where she belongs, and that we can go back there in the evening and take showers and make drinks and sit on the stern and watch the sun set and the tide rise and fall. I'll keep you posted.

4 comments:

Brian S said...

YEAH!!!!!!!! So happy for you guys. I am permanently in Ft Lauderdale now. Have a few beers waiting for you!

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Woohoo! Go A.S. and U.B.!

Anonymous said...

How much fun are you having?
What are your GPS coordinates so we can find you?
Nice to know some of our family is adventurous!!
This is good news
PP and Ronnie

Suzy said...

I haven't figured out how to reply to these individually, (I know, duh) but thanks all!!