It's not my fault!

Re: pics from September 2011

   The first thing one has to consider in viewing evidence of my progress so far is that the boat was in pretty sad shape to start with in 2003.  Most of what there was of it fit into one of three categories:
   1. bits that were worn-out, too old or damaged from age
   2. bits that were badly maintained by POs
   3. bits that were badly done by Hunter or my dad in the build and design stages and desperately called out for some revisionist thinking.

   Enter an idealistic dreamer (read that: 'idiot') with more thought than power and definitely more enthusiasm than money or resources.

   The second thing one has to consider is that my employment record has been spotty (at best) since I got this boat.  The good bit is that had I not had a steady job as a classroom teacher at the time I bought it, I never would have got the boat later (and I would have been boatless and poor Diana would have been scrapped).  The bad bit is that, after a year of having the boat located 50 miles away, my cousin Dave took over the old CBC property and offered me a spot there, gratis (basically he 'ordered' me to bring the boat up here and get it done); but then I lost my teaching job due to a budget cut (what else?) six months later and have not worked steadily since.

  So Diana appeared in a window of time that was as narrow as her transom and was (and remains) never to be repeated.  Luck is as luck does.  At least I have a boat-- and despite how it looks it really isn't that far away from sailing salt water again at all.  Most of the delay has been due to my nitpicking-- in the process of too many years I have rebuilt about 75% of the original boat and another 10% or 15% from now it'll be done.  I do what I can, when I can, with what I have.  What else is there?

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