Finally

This spring came comparatively early, but I couldn't take advantage of it. Farmers were turning up soil, lawn mowers were being prepared, potholes were being filled in, but there I sat looking at my empty slip. Wayback was STILL in the shop, unavailable for the two or three weeks of gelcoat restoration and launch preparation I had planned. Now that I had the time for it, and can take my time, the object of my affection was stuck in marina backlog purgatory.

As many of you who have been guests on The Wayback may know, the entrance bar in the hand railing on the starboard side never aligned correctly. If an unstable passenger actually came to depend on that entrance rail to support their weight, they would likely find themselves swimming. It was a safety issue, but to correct it required replacement of the entire rail system on that side from the bow back to just past that entry rail - or about 20 feet of rail. And the footings for two of the stantions needed to be reset, meaning a fair bit of fiberglass work. Anyone who knows marine repair knows that simply having the word "marine" in the work order triples the price of what is already an expensive proposition. Replacing the rail was a project that needed to be saved for. 

When they finally moved Wayback out to where I could work on it, only a week remained until our scheduled launch date. The glass work was still incomplete, but at least the rail was done and the walk around safe. All the buffing and finishing had to be done in about three days. Certainly doable, but resulting in rubber arms at the end of each day.

Today we took Wayback out on the river for the first time, two weeks after launch. The hull gleamed, even though the rain prevented the luster from becoming obvious. Even though it was Memorial Day weekend, most boaters were ducking the rain in their boats or in the restaurants along the river.  Anne's birthday was the occasion, and the memory of holding a heavy, 30 year old buffer over my head for hours had already faded. I smiled as the engines purred and we plyed the water without competition. This year brings Memorial Day weekend one week earlier than usual, with Labor Day scheduled one week later than usual. So basically we were early anyway. Time to take advantage of all those bonus days.

Anne's friend's son Piloting Wayback by Foot on our first voyage of the year