It’s Showtime!

June 27, 2017 Hours spent building to date: 3,737

Feverish preparations have been underway for the WoodenBoat Show, June 30-July 2 in Mystic, CT. Just say “blog follower” and you have a pass for the Grand Tour!

The boat came out of the water and onto the trailer Monday at Brown’s Boatyard across the river from Guilford Yacht Club. Super-competent people who handled everything with no fuss.

The big items are:

— Raising the waterline about 2 inches to account for the weight I’ve added to the boat. Doesn’t really need it, but I like the contrast between the black bottom paint and the gray hull. Plus Guilford harbor seems really scummy this year due to the wet weather and a lot of growth in the water, so even a small wave leaves scum.

— Finishing the engine box. It really won’t be finished all the way. Covering the entire engine just made the box too high, so there is a cutout in the middle. Mark is coming to the show, so he can give me some advice.

— Installing the tabernacle, mast and boom. Totally unnecessary, but it will look cool and give me a place to fly Ray and Sydney’s Commissioning Pendant.

The little items just keep coming at me — flag pole, burgee stick, sand counters, bathroom door — what a pain since I forgot to account for the fact that the top is slightly curved.

Boat mover Norm Edwards arrives tomorrow and up to Mystic. Boat cleanup Thursday, then the show.

I really look forward to just sitting outside the boat and talking to people, since I am just about as physically tired as I have ever been during the project running back and forth between the shop and the boat in the heat and trying to co-0rdinate a trailer move, a boat haul, a boat move and a launch to make this all happen.