Duty

You cannot duck certain duties. There comes a time, as the days lengthen and winds slowly shift to south-westerlies, that you can no longer delay the inevitable. The boat’s ” on the hard,” so you make pilgrimage to the boatyard and get under the wraps to see what winter has wrought.

Let see:

• Clean out the nests that kept the yard cats comfy all winter as they swept the yard for rodents.
• Pick up empties from the last visit of the fall when you and Terry had a few too many.
• Check how successful your other winterizations were.

There’ll be more down the line. You’ll gradually move in with cleaning supplies, paint, varnish, sandpaper, steel wool, mops, and brooms. You’ll have the yard mechanic check on the diesel; your skills there are much too shy a full load to handle that.

You begin the slow job of totaling up costs. Every year the old saying – ” a boat is a hole in the water into which you shovel money” seems more accurate. 

You’ll be in the water before Memorial Day, with luck. The cost is high, but it is such sweet anguish.