We had friends waiting on the dock, ready to help us tie up and wondering why we were anchoring in the middle of the river. A quick radio message to Tow Boat US, and we were eventually hauled into a spot very close to our slip. Upon learning that we were new boat-owners and live-aboards, the marina maintenance staff were taking bets on how long before a For Sale sign would appear on our hull. We spent Monday moving out of our place on Anna Maria Island, and moving into our new floating home. It only took one trip, and we managed to finish before the afternoon showers came.
	We ordered a new coupler, and all Don had to do was remove 4 big bolts to take the shredded coupler off. Just 4 lousy bolts! One little known fact became known to us with that first project - working on anything on a boat takes much longer than expected. To this day I multiply the estimated time by 4 - one for each of those lousy bolts. These rusty, corroded, soot covered bolts were seized onto a spinning shaft.  This meant the things we wanted to twist weren't, and the things we didn't want to twist were. With the help of penetrating oil, many tool and lots of sweat, Don eventually got the coupler replaced. I promised him I would not reveal the exact amount of time he spent on this, but it is equivalent to the life expectancy of several generations of Mayflies.
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Copyright © 2007 Diana W Mulroy - SV Re Metau.  All rights reserved.