Melancholy Monday

Image is an illustration by George Wooliscroft Rhead, & Louis Rhead from Lancelot and Elaine by Alfred Tennyson

I have not known what to post for days now....I am just not feeling like myself. My patience is beyond worn thin, and I have been exhausted. We have had a lot of progress on the boat, though the thing has still not seen it's maiden voyage. I would bet that is part of the reason I am feeling especially melancholy today. I had my little heart set on being out on the water Saturday and Sunday, but alas that was just not to be. We still have a few things that have to get finished before our vessel is water worthy. My most talented mother put in a lot of work to help me get the bench seats completed, and without her help I am sure the vinyl would still be on it's roll untouched. The deck of the boat is finished, the carpet is in, and the gas tank has been re-installed. Just some minor re-wiring, and engine tuning and we should be ready to set sail......I hope hope hope it will be ready by this weekend, we are both rapidly growing tired of tinkering with our little ship and not getting to sail in it. It was also quite sad to hear that the great George Carlin, and Scott Kalitta both died this weekend. They will both be greatly missed. I will try to get a few pictures posted in the next few days of the boat, and the goings-on around the house. (mom had a great idea for some boat accessories...) Hope for a better tomorrow, and have a great week!

My Two Dads

I have two dads to thank for molding me into the woman I have become.

I was in the fourth grade when my birth father died. Robert Lawrence Truesdale, led me in life with a very stern, disciplined hand. I did get spanked, and I know I deserved it, but I cannot actually remember ever getting a spanking. I do however, remember what I got a spanking for. Talking back, throwing a fit, being snotty to my mother. I also remember some of my happiest times with him. I think he loved nothing more in the world than going fishing. We would go out into Robert's Bay, and I would catch the biggest fish of anyone, and then I would lie down and take a nap, while everyone else pulled minnows out of the water all day. He taught me to be strong, and to be respectful of everyone. He also showed me the bonds of a family, and the unbelievable strength my mother possessed. He stayed home until his last breaths, he was not the kind of person who wanted to waste away alone in a hospital. My mother, and her mother cared for him until he passed, and I still to this day cannot fathom the strength it took to see him that way, and care for his most basic needs until the end. I look forward to a day in heaven when I may walk with him, and hear all the stories he didn't have time to tell me.

A number of years later Michael Joseph Rigato entered my life. It was not until I moved out that I was able to really see eye to eye with him, and understand and repair the breakdowns in our relationship. Mike may be small, but he takes crap from no one, and he loves, and takes care of my mom like no other. The disrespect that I showed her in my teen years infuriated him, and like any teenager, I could not understand that I was being a brat, and that I, in reality, did not know everything. It can take a while to understand him, as he can come off as a bit harsh, and he is the kind of person who is always right, but he has taught me to stand up for myself, and to be passionate about what you believe in.

All I can say, is that a fathers love is like no other, and it does not matter if you share blood, as long as you share the bond of love. No one can take away the memories, and love a father gives you, and I am immeasurably thankful for the experiences my two dads have given me in life, that have made me who I am.

Without my dads, I am nothing. Thanks dad...

Much progress

We had quite a successful day with the boat today!

This morning Monkey was able to remove all of the remaining support beam that was rotted out. We did not think there was any way that it was going to come out without harming the integrity of the hull. I guess Poseidon was looking down on us, and decided to give us a bit of luck.

Here he is just being his silly old self, I swear I cannot get him to smile like a normal person for a picture. (he is holding up a piece of old fiberglass that he accidentally broke by the way. At least I wasn't the only one to hurt our poor vessel)


This is what remained of the main beam after he pulled it out. The thinnest part of that beam should have been about 6 inches, and as you can see it was rotten down to about 2 inches.






Monkey spent a good part of the afternoon fine-tuning the new beam....


Monkey's childhood friend Andy came by after work, and was nice enough to crawl up into the hull and clear out the last remaining bits of wet rotten wood...


That is true friendship, when you are the skinniest person, and you volunteer to crawl up into a cramped space to clean out wood that looks like poop!





I decided to write a blessing on our new center support. I sure wish I had beautiful handwriting like my dear sister Mrs. Fox



And here is our new beam, installed and ready to be fiber glassed in. We even had enough time to get some resin poured around the beam before the afternoon showers started up.


Tomorrow Andy is off work, and has offered his services so that we can get the floor put in. Hopefully by tomorrow we will have repaired all the water damage, and be ready for carpet, and seats! That means I am going to be very very busy soon, as Monkey is not willing to just settle for plain seats, he wants decoration. Lucky me.....

Ships Ahoy!

I know, I know it has been a bit too long since I last posted, but in my defense monkey and I are on vacation and we have been very busy.

On Sunday we bought a 1974 Tahiti jet boat with a 455 Oldsmobile engine in it. (YES a car engine, great for monkey to work on) The boat was delivered to the house on Tuesday, and we have been busting out butts ever since. These first two pictures are from right after we bought the boat, before we got into fixing her up

Monkey decided to pull out the deck boards on either side of the engine, as they were quite worn, and soaked with engine oil and battery acid. The previous owner had a battery explode in the compartment, so the wood was a bit of a mess. Upon further inspection though, we discovered that the entire deck of the boat was completely rotted through, including the center support down the middle of the hull. What a nasty disgusting mess. Rotten wood has the texture and look of dog doodie. DISGUSTING!

So, after pulling the carpet up, we got to the painful and messy job of cutting through ¼ to ½ inches worth of old fiberglass. Mind you , just because fiberglass is full of resin, that doesn't mean that once you take a saw to it, that the fine white snow that is covering every inch of you and everything around you doesn't react the same way as the un-resined stuff. Can I say OUCH. I have fiberglass in my arms, legs, and neck. I tried exfoliating every inch of my body in the shower, but I still have many parts that are quite itchy still. Not to mention that that stuff is terribly drying to the skin.

But we did manage to get almost all of the rotten wood and old fiberglass out of the boat. I did accidentally cut a hole in the hull in the process, but monkey swears that it is no big deal, and he will have it fixed in a jiffy. I was very very upset that I put a hole in our boat especially as I was being so careful.

Tomorrow we will just need to grind down the beam in the center of the boat, and then lay new supports, and marine grade plywood for the decking. We are going to fill the empty space with expandable foam also, so that there will be no way that water will be able to get in again, and rot the wood. The previous owner had re-done the deck, but did not bother to use marine plywood, and just used the regular stuff which definitely didn't help the cause any.

Other than our decking problems though, the boat is in great shape, even though the pictures don't really look that way. Monkey just needs to get a bigger carburetor, and re-do some wiring, and I need to get busy upholstering the deck seats. Then we will be out on the water cruising along! We really hope to get the boat done by the end of the month so we can go out to the water and watch the Suncoast Offshore Grand Prix that comes to town every year.

I am off to go mock up some seat pattern ideas, so monkey can let me know what he wants me to do with the new deck seats. I will post again soon when we have some more finished!

Of government and weather vanes

While at Target tonight buying cat food, Monkey and I went past the garden center in our stroll around the store, I got a glimpse of this beautiful weather vane. Of course the first thing he said was "what in the heck do you need that for?" why decoration of course! We are, after all re-landscaping the front of the house. I think it would be nice in the front somewhere. I just have to decide if I want to spend $40 on a yard decoration. It would probably be coming out of my stimulus check, which I am feeling very frugal and stingy with. I guess I will sleep on it and see. Plus I have to wait until Friday when the check is supposed to arrive. Maybe by then I'll be able to make a decision.