To see as much of the world as we can,
Using the smallest carbon footprint we can,
Spending the least amount of money we can,
Making as many friends we can.

Team Red Cruising

Finger Drumming

The waiting is hard.

FoGoBo says "Don't wish time away."

Rather than pacing around, beating a tattoo with our fingers, we should really be doing something. Sadly, the boat is layed up.

Since December, we've been "playing boat" just about every weekend. Partly, it's what we do to get out of the apartment. But it's morphed into more than that.

Tired of work? Open up Jamestown Distributors and look and stuff like through hull fittings. Don't want to watch TV? Read some of Don Casey's How-To Library. Don't feel like walking up to The Boot for a beer? Look at the Sunbrella fabrics pages and imagine what the interior could look like.

Weekend? Get out of the little 2BR apartment and go to Deltaville to do chores. There's a lot that's wrong with the world -- and a boat -- and there's a lot that can be set right with a boat. The world, not so much.

Want something done right? Go to your boat and do it right, once and for all.

Frustrated with the world? Go to your boat and do something right.

Done Right

Boat repair can be tricky because of the inaccessibility of some parts. On the other hand, most systems in a boat are intentionally simple. Further, they're very heavy-duty. You can't really break much working on your boat. Your typical household bathroom sink drain, for example, has pretty thin tubing -- just enough to guide water to the plumbing stack. Don't over-tighten. Our galley sink drains are crush-proof, harsh-chemical-proof, multi-layer exhaust hose, designed to last decades under harsh marine conditions. You can't over-tighten.

But, the deck repair is curing in the shed. So, we're kind of stalled. There's only so much browsing and shopping one can handle. There are jobs that need to be done. And we're not doing them.

This weekend, we could have finished rebuilding the windlass, for example. But, instead, we just sort of goofed off and felt guilty about it. While a "free" weekend is fun, we need to get past the guilt over the jobs that aren't getting done.

Focus

The boat as focus is a great thing: everyone needs a focus.

One could say "the boat anchors our lives," but that's a terrible metaphor. People without boats need anchors: family, church, friends, community. People with boats need the same things, but with a different metaphor.

One could say "the boat is the wind in our sails," but that's just as awful. People without boats need the push of some driving wind: charity, justice, freedom, opportunity, faith, hope, love. We all need driving forces; additionally, boat people need better metaphors.

So, rather than do something useful, we've been enumerating bad boat metaphors. It really isn't a bad thing to do, and we should get over the guilt.

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