Another month gone by - inching closer towards completion. I'm starting to feel more optimistic about the whole project. The whole thing is starting to come together; be it ever so slowly. Gone are the horror stories of the past. The boat's been stripped bare, there's nothing else left to find.

Frank's been hard at it for a week now. It's starting to show. Approaching the forward hatch. Once we've rounded that, there's only the anchor well left and then we're done. End of the laminating. Then the cork can be laid - finally. The final stretch.



We're nearly there. Extra hands will be available over Easter. In April I'll be over to work on the boat nearly every week-end. Hull polishing and applying antifoul. I'll also take off work nearly the whole month of May. One way or another, the launch date is still set for May 19th.

In the mean time - the winches are back. They're looking brilliant - the tired and dull look a thing of the past. They've now taken pride of place in our hallway - a shining addition to the ever growing 'boat pile'. Sometimes the boat pile is the only thing I have to remind me of Guapa for weeks on end. I like the boat pile.

Also made a trip to deepest Suffolk to have the lifejackets and liferaft serviced. They should be ready by Easter. I also stopped by our rigger. Tentative arrangements have been made to replace Guapa's standing rigging. And at a very keen price too. None of the 2 previous owners have replaced it, so that makes the rigging at least 14 years old. With a possible Atlantic crossing on the horizon, it's a job I'm not willing to postpone any longer. Yachts tend to sail badly without a mast.

Last stop - the stainless steel workshop. They've done top quality work for us in the past (pulpit) , so when it came to placing the order for a radar bracket and a pole for the wind genny, they were the obvious first stop.

Slowly, but surely, we're getting there.