First Things First...

Boat, complete with attached reef ecosystem. 

So, I bought a boat...and that probably should mean I am sailing off into the sunset right? Weeellll...Not so fast.

People already think that the fact that I bought a boat means that I have tons of money. And if I did have tons of money, maybe I would be sailing right away. But I am making less than a high school teacher in my area. And I am a single mom receiving no support. So lets get rid of the idea that you have to be rich to own a boat right now. 

What I did was buy a boat that has issues. Issues that I knew a thing or two about. And the very first issue was that the boat hadn't been hauled in at least 3-5 years. 

Boats need an ablative bottom paint, to prevent sea life from growing on them. That paint lasts about 2 years, max. So as I was purchasing the boat, one of the things I told the owner was that because the paint was shot, I needed him to knock the price down by the cost of the bottom job I would immediately need. He agreed. Boat purchase price: $4500. A decent bargain for a pretty dang functional boat...

So my baby was hauled out first thing and got a new coat of paint below the water line. And I didn't even have to do the work. 

Scraped and ready for sanding. 

While she was out, I also had three old (and terrifying) gate valves replaced with proper sea cocks, the outboard motor mounted more securely, and adjusted to a more correct angle of tilt relative to the hull. 2k later, my boat is less of a bargain, but still a reasonable price, and I know that it will stay on top of the water. Revised boat price: $6600. 

The sea cocks and and outboard were done by Something Special Yacht Services, out of Fife, WA. Glen and Steve are great guys, and freely hand out DIY advice. 

Catalina originally didn't bother with flanged thru-hulls, but just glassed a straight piece of pipe into the hull as it was built, and attached a gate valve to it instead (a gate valve is the same kind you attach your garden hose to--because those never leak). The only thing keeping if from breaking loose from the hull was the dubious adhesive qualities of the fiberglass. I knew when I bought the boat that this retrofit would be first on my list. And yet, after 43 years, mine were solid. Unfortunately the gate valves were corroded to the point of being completely inoperable.

Hylebos Marina did the bottom paint as part of a package including haul out, launch, scraping 2 roughneck trash cans worth of sea life off, sanding, and adding 1 coat of black Interlux Micron CSC.

Sadly, I don't seem to have a pic of the finished paint job. But it was snappy looking, right before we dropped her back in the water! And I have peace of mind.

My heart stops for a few minutes..

The most terrifying thing to happened today. I have done a ton of cleaning and clearing away of crap on the boat, but ultimately there is still a whole lot of grime left. Before I got too far with my maniacal efforts, I decided to tackle the worst parts--the bilge.

Under schlocky rust and about 2 inches of water lay my keel bolts, which hold on the 2700lb keel that keeps this top-heavy beast upright. They looked lumpy and misshapen, possibly due to corrosion or the half inch of accumulated crud...

I cleared away the crud to discover a thick coating of epoxy resin globbed on everywhere. That accounted for the indistinct shapes at least, but I still had no idea what condition my bolts were in--the wrap of epoxy could hide anything. I kept cleaning.

Then I saw the most terrifying thing...cracks in the epoxy...and water seeping up thru the cracks. I had a moment of panicky hyperventilation.

Well, the cracked epoxy was not doing it's job, obviously, and also wasn't strong enough to be holding back the sea. So, with fear and trembling,  I took a screwdriver and hammer to it and began chipping it away. I told myself sternly that it was better to know what I was dealing with sooner than later. I might have said a few special words...

The most beautiful thing on the boat.

I was incredibly lucky. It turned out the water was rainwater that had seeped behind the cracked epoxy from above, not seawater coming up from below. The fiberglass is rock solid, and the bolts are gorgeous. I have never been so relieved in my life.

New Adventures

So...Tah-Dah!! My next crazy act. I bought a run down little Catalina 27. It is rougher than I would like, for such a ubiquitously available model, but I fell in love with the layout, the only one with a dinette, forward galley, and 2 quarter berths that I could find for sale.

This will make possibly the best cruising/liveaboard layout I can imagine, and with the simple sail plan even I should be able to manage single-handing it by the end of the summer.

It will be a great hobby, with many projects planned already for the coming year. I paid very little for it and bought it without a survey. I probably should have had it checked out, but I instead relied on climbing all over it, kicking all the tires so to speak. The one thing I couldn't check was the keel attachment--a known problem with this model. I am sweating a little but decided at this price I could afford the gamble.

Also, just due to taking the plunge, I have already connected with a vibrant sailing community, full of amazing and kind people who have been very welcoming. That, in and of itself, was worth the price of admission.

Leaping Through Life

I started as a small potatoes waitress, a mom of 2, often single parenting.

A variety of unwise leaps brought me some very incredible children. I next leaped into home ownership and poured sweat equity into restoring a 100 year old house in northern Washington state. As the projects slowly wound down, and the kids chased the ice cream truck, I first understood why Alexander the Great wept because there were no more worlds to conquer. After years of first just struggling to survive, and then trying to restore a destroyed building into a home, I was accustomed to the pressure and felt anxious without it.

Eventually, I leaped into college, got a BS in molecular biology, and transitioned into a career in research. I was sure this time there would be enough horizons to keep even me happy. Science is a field that never sleeps.

Of course, science is also a field requiring many tedious and meticulous repetitions. Once you learn how to do them efficiently, they become variations on a theme.

I restlessly started thinking about my next leap.

Seeking Treasure

I have lived a life. By turns mundane and electric, I have spent most of it leaping. Some of my leaps have brought incredible joy and some have brought deep regret, but I have noticed over the years that the things I have loved and enjoyed the most were the ones where I did some of the crazier things, things that seemed ill-advised or unreasonable. I am trying to once again chart a new course.

There will not be quality writing here, or stories of interest to anyone but me. This is my answer to facebook, which I occasionally close down, due to it's invasiveness, and my own obsessive interactions with it.