Back to Amateur status!!!!

[heartofgold]

After a nearly 2 year foray into the professional world of boat repair and restoration (following Hurricane Ivan), I am retiring from my paid position in the yard and I am once again restoring vessels as an amatueur. Man...this feels good.

So, after this long being away from the group (no computer access in the yard...), have I missed anything?

[bcooke]

Well, we missed you!

Same old stuff, boat is broke, bank account is broke, try to finish a simple job and the next thing you know the boat has been gutted...

-Britton

[Rachel]

Heart of Gold! Great to have you back :-)

I'm in the same situation you were. I work at a boatyard but haven't gotten to do personal boat work at all. It's like working in a candy store and not being able to eat sweets.

... have I missed anything?

That made me laugh. It reminded me of being in school and when - having missed a couple of weeks - a student would ask the teacher "Did I miss anything?" Of course they always got all huffy because that insinuated that two weeks of Really Important Information wasn't really a big problem to miss. Heh.

That being said, Britton has probably covered it pretty well.

A look through "Boat Photos" and "Ramblings" would give you a diverse overview ;-)

--- Rachel

[windrose]

Doug, glad you're back. Britton hit the nail on the head.

At the beginning of the week, I was simply thinking of ripping out the ice box and building a top loader.... today, Friday, I am thinking of ripping out the entire galley and building a mid-ship galley including a top loader that would also function as the nav table.

I put a sledge hammer and the saws-all in my truck last night.....

I gotta stay away from those MIR pages, I get all sorts of big ideas over there.....:-D

[heartofgold]

Well let me ask you all this...did anyone else keep their boat high and dry this year, or was it just me.

And where can I find updates on Tim's new place (ok, new to me--I really have been that out of touch!)

[bcooke]

My boat stayed dry this year and will probably be dry next year too. After that it is going to be Bahamas Baby!!

Tim posted that link somewhere around here...

Can we expect some project updates on your website soon?

-Britton

[heartofgold]

Yea, I need to do some updates. I made some headway last winter, but work in the yard decreased my motivation to dive into my own boat after hours (hence my joy at returning to amateur status).

I have also been distracted with other things here. I am an active Boy Scouter, and I have just undertaken the task of reviving the Sea Scout program locally. We are about to start up 3 new units, so obviously, that has kept me busy.