Because we bought this lovely lady in 'sail away' condition (see above)I have much to do yet besides the re-re-redo. New furler to install, sail track and cars for the main, running rigging, outboard, rudder shoe issues, then we'd have to go East to Lake Superior (too cold) or South the Mike's neighborhood near the twin cities of MN just to float! Hundreds of miles either option.
No. This is something to do now. Strike while the iron is hot. There will always be a project somewhere on the boat. That's just the reality of owning a boat you care about. Take tonight for instance...
Not being one to just 'dive in', after arriving at the boat I waited about five minutes before digging in. I started with something mild like unscrewing the hinges in the flip-top for the head. Then a finish screw here and there. Then it was controlled mayhem removing cleats and pieces and 'carefully' cutting tabing with a utility knife(yeah, right). it wasn't too long before I was peeling off laminate and launching pieces into the cockpit...okay, launching probably isn't entirely acurate. But what is acurate is the peeling off the laminate I had applied to the cabinetry in the v-berth area. I had sealed the wood pieces agianst water intrusion with a couple coats of epoxy then applied a formica laminate with, what else, contact cement. Well folks, that was 2-3 years ago and it came off tonight with little effort. Therefore, by the mere act of these laminate pieces figuratively 'falling off' in my hand, my urge, nay the necessity to correct these issues has been justified!! (Not long ago these words would have been followed by the townspeople crying, "Burn her! Burn her! She's a witch!")
So next is the grinder to really get things rolling, followed by some serious sanding and paint removal. A clean slate. I feel good about this. Like Gene wilder as the young Dr. Frankenstien said, "It! Could! Work!"