There’s probably something to dissect about a mind shift that comes from changing location. When we were in Vermont, I wanted to get south to work on the boat but also was excited about the idea of being up there for Thanksgiving. I could putter, enjoy the views, and just settle into laid-back existence.

Now that we’re back in Virginia, I’m consumed with the ticking clock. Gotta get all the boat projects done, FAST.

Don’t ask me to define “all” or “done”.

Jeremy, who will wrap up work at the end of the year, took all last week off. He’d planned that earlier in the year, when he realized there was no way he could use up all his vacation days without taking chunks off. And it turned out to be a major score in terms of boat work last week.

For starters, we had to move in to the house. This involved a lot of very careful hanging of plastic to protect the space, plus organizing tools and materials. We’re in this house until we can move onto the boat (or until the middle of April, whichever comes first), so it was worth spending time making it work for us while being mindful of the fact that it is NOT our house. There’s a lot of stashed stuff in the 3rd bedroom.

Then came the endless trips between storage, the house, and the boat. For at least the first 4 days or so, we would get to the boat and realize we needed to go somewhere else to get what was required.

All of this is against the background of just getting reacquainted with Calypso. What stage had we left things in? Did we template the last bulkhead? Didn’t we think we could use an existing template? Did we prep the hull for fiberglass in the lazarette before closing it off to easy access? So many questions!

After all that, what did we get done?

1. GALLEY: The last bulkhead is all fiberglassed in with some tabbing installed for supporting the counters and other pieces of cabinetry. We’ve removed the old propane line (this took forever). Counters have been templated with the first one cut out; we’re spending lots of time fine-tuning the cut out dimensions. I think we’ve decided on the sink faucet (since it was in one of the boxes in storage). Also found the gimbaling hardware needed for the stove AND found the box of thru hulls, including the one for the sink drain.

2. MISCELLANEOUS: Measured, cut, sanded, and polyurethaned ceiling strips. Worked on the battery box (it fits where we want it!) and ordered a few more parts. Fiberglassed the lazarette side of the aft galley bulkhead. Cleaned winch bases for eventual installation of the new Andersen self-tailers.

Progress photos:

For the next 3+ weeks, we’re back to heading to Calypso after dark, at least from Monday to Thursday. Good thing there are lots of projects we can do from the house!