It is eight o'clock on one of those rare spring evenings when the breeze is soft, refreshingly cool and, just after the sun has settled in a layer of clouds over the
Chesapeake Bay, blowing from the south, according to two American flags still flying nearby.
The day was spent cutting three-quarter inch plywood into two pieces and fitting it to an opening in Robin's V-berth bulkhead. The rot seemed to be contained in one sheet of plywood of the two that comprised the bulkhead, so that removing only that piece will, I hope, restore the structure without the necessity of more drastic surgery.
Tomorrow I'll clean the flakes of rotted wood and the accumulated dust from where the old wood was and then, after slathering a generous amount of epoxy, bang the two pieces in place and fiberglass the joints between the new wood and the existing bulkhead.
Then I'll re-install the holding tank and Robin will, in future sails, demonstrate whether my boat carpentry skills are up to snuff.
Should I finish that project tomorrow, I'll be able to start on the repairs of the cap rail and the rub rail that were splintered in a wind storm during the winter.
I am scheming to become filthy rich so I can pay someone to do all the boat maintenance and repairs. Like the bumper sticker says, I'd rather be sailing.