Funny some of the things you see in a boat yard. The boat pictured here is actually a hull, with an A-frame roof installed - shingles and all!

We've been "on the hard" (boater term for having your boat in the boat yard up on jack stands) now for three days here in Anacortes at Cap Sante Marine boat yard. The progress has been slow but at least we are headed in the right direction. The first night we were here, we stayed in a motel up the street. The kids were able to swim in the pool and we all enjoyed the free breakfast. But since we are spending all our money on boat repairs, we can't be livin' the high life in motels and what not. So, we are now staying on the boat in the yard. It's not bad though. There are many people who have life much worse. We actually slept great last night. Tonight, we enjoyed the most awesome of dinners - grilled corn on the cob and grilled chicken! It was delectable! You see, you just leave the corn in the stalk, pull the stalk back a bit and fill it with butter, then wrap it up in tin-foil and lay in on the grill. You really can't overcook it, but we left ours on for about 20-30 minutes on low heat. The stalk has the moisture the corn needs to cook, so it doesn't burn - the butter just makes it good! Once the corn was almost done, we laid some dry-rubbed chicken on the grill and let that cook. Then we all enjoyed a great dinner in our very own water-front mobile home up on jacks. Does life get any better? Tami even conjured up some awesome chocolate chip bread pudding with dark chocolate ice cream on top! Who'd a thunk it?

Yesterday, we finally got the stubborn cutlass bearing removed. With the help of an air chisel, it finally gave up and fell out. What a mess! We sent the propeller and drive shaft away to The Prop Shop to be repaired. Today, we got the great news (read sarcasm) that we needed a new drive shaft (our old one was bent and corroded). So, a new $1400 drive shaft is on its way. The kids are officially up for sale! Hopefully the new shaft and repaired prop will be here by Monday so we can install them and be put back in the water by Tuesday. Our new shaft seal parts also arrived today so we cleaned all those parts up and reassembled the PSS dripless seal. We also installed the new engine mounts today. It was easier than we expected. We simply loosened up all the bolts on the old ones and then jacked the engine up with a floor jack and replaced the mounts. The old ones were indeed bent. Now, all we have to do is get the new drive shaft back in and get the boat back in the water. Then we can get the engine re-aligned and be on our way. In the meantime, we may take the ferry over to Friday Harbor and spend a few more days with our friend Susan. We may also borrow her car as walking around this town is getting old.

The guys in the boat yard here have been great. They have been very helpful and done it all with a great attitude. We hope to be able to buy them all some pizzas for lunch one day next week (maybe the day all our parts get here so they will be more inclined to help us install them!)

We are all eager to get back on the water and enjoy the rest of our summer sailing. However, we have to take the lemons and make lemonade. We are all trying to have a positive attitude and keep our spirits high. Fortunately, the weather has been magnificent and the temperatures have been in the 70's. You can't ask for much better conditions to be working on a boat. Tonight, Christian took a swing on the world's largest swingset. You see, when you are living on your boat in the boat yard, you tend to be the only ones around after business hours. So, since the guys left the travel lift out and the slings down, we took advantage of it and went for a little (or big) swing. Abby was afraid, but Christian enjoyed it.

I'm sure tomorrow's list of "to do's" is growing by the minute. Fortunately, we have nothing but time (no money, but plenty of time)! Living on and maintaining a big boat is not easy. But neither is living in and maintaining an old house. Our boat is 28 years old and has been around the world. She has some wrinkles, stretch marks, and tan lines. She may be a little tired, but has some great stories to tell. All she needs is a little TLC and she will take us safely wherever we want to go.