Throwing away mood....

For those of you who have not heard, I will be moving onto a boat in October. When I tell people this, they ask me, "what are you going to do with your stuff?" My response, "sell it all." In order to do that, I have to go through everything. Throw away the junk, list the better stuff on Craigslist, and the rest will go in an estate sale. Today, I started the "going through stuff".

I have two filing cabinets... full of stuff I haven't used or looked at in years. Today was the day to tackle that.

It was a trip down memory lane. My best, and most exciting find, was finding the Quickbooks disk I have been looking for... for a few years now!

How many of you remember these? And, don't forget the floppy disk. Yes, they all went in the trash.

I found a lot of items like this. Not sure why they weren't trashed a long time ago.

This process is a little harder than I thought it would be. It's like letting go of the old, and starting a new life. A friend told me that at her last move, she had an open door sale, and that it was very freeing. I'm thinking that it will be the same for me. I have the memories, don't have to hang onto the tangible items that go along with them. It's unfortunate my memory is so bad!

NON-SKID

There are several different ways to create a non-skid surface on your deck. I liked the non-skid that Charlie Jones has on Traveler, so that's what I used on TARDIS. It was easy to apply, using a 1/8 inch roller. I am very pleased with the results.

To tape off the area, I went to O'Reilly Auto Parts and bought 1/4 inch pin stripe. It goes on easy and lays flat in the turns. Then I used the blue painter's tape too.

All the varnishing is completed now.

The sail kit has been ordered.

This week will be used for gathering hardware, and looking for a trailer. This build is coming to an end, THANK GOD!!!!

It has been fun, but I'm ready to get on the water. The next chapter of my life will start on the day I splash TARDIS! When will that be, you ask? I'm shooting for September 8th.

MY 5-YEAR PLAN

Last year, when my life was going through it's changes, I decided on a 5-year plan. In 5 years, I would have me a sailboat, and move onto it. Well, my 5-year plan turned into a 1-year plan.

My friends, currently living on s/v Flatulence, will leave it behind and go cruising on their other boat. I went to see her yesterday, and it just felt right... I will buy her and move onto her in October. I'm so excited! Then it hit me... I have a 4 bedroom home full of "stuff". I do not want to rent storage, so it has to go. I have two months to decide what I can't live without.

This is a big life changing event for me. CHANGE has been the theme of my life for the past year. It has been good for me though. I have grown as a person, and asked myself many times... "why not".

I adopted the motto: "Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you will regret the things you didn't do, more than the ones you did. " #19 on the 21 SUGGESTIONS FOR SUCCESS by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. This was a poster that hung on my wall for 9 years, but #19 jumped out at me one day... about a year ago.

Before that day, I would always tell myself, "you can't do that". Now, when I have that thought, I ask myself, "why not?" If I don't come up with a good excuse, I do it. This is one of those times, I couldn't think of a reason to NOT live on a boat, but a lot of reasons why I should.

Getting rid of all this "stuff" around me, will be a little hard at first. I, in the past, was a collector. I would tell myself that I might need that, and stuff it in the attic. Of course, most of it was never disturbed again until I had to move. That is when I would purge. It is time to purge once more. This time, instead of looking for things to throw out, I will be looking for things to keep. I will ask myself, "how long has it been since you used this?" In a way, it will be "freeing". I have met a few people recently that have that gypsy spirit, minimalist type people. I am gravitating to that mind-set.

My Paradox boat, TARDIS, will be completed soon. I hope to splash her this month. That, along with my move on the water, will be the beginning of a new way of life for me. I will spend most of my free time... on the water. I've been asked what my plans are for TARDIS. My plans are to sail her a lot. I plan to take her to Key West, where my daughter moved. Sail her to the Bahamas next year ( from the Florida coast). There will be many weekend trips in her, and you can read about them all here. But first, I need to finish her. This weekend will be filled with varnish, bending a bronze rod, a little epoxy, a little paint, finding more lead, buying hardware.... and the list goes on. Hummm, where did I put that wine glass.....

VENT TRUNK

Today, I pulled TARDIS out of the garage to step the mast. My neighbor, Larry, came across the lawn carrying a couple of beers. He rarely comes over empty handed. :-)

The third coat of paint has been spread, and I think that's all she will get. A non-skid will be applied to the deck also.

The vent trunk on a Paradox is unique. The halyard and furling line come through the deck into the vent trunk, and then into the cabin. At the bottom of the mast step, there is a drain hole. The electrical box is mounted to the left of the vent trunk. The batteries will be on the other side of the bulkhead the box is mounted on.

Wiring for the running lights will come down through the mast, exit the mast below the deck, and will plug into the harness mounted inside the vent trunk. The hole for the wires to go to the box has not been drilled yet. Wires have already been run from the box to the pump located in the aft storage space.

A list has been made of all the hardware that is needed. The sail will be purchased as a kit from Sailrite. Oh yeah, and a trailer.

TARDIS Has Paint!

I can't seem to paint anything without getting it in my hair! Today was no different, but I'm so excited that there is paint on s/v TARDIS. I was asked how many coats I was going to apply. My answer, "I don't know." Maybe three? I will know when I get to the last one.

I decided to use the Glidden Porch & Floor, off white. A navy blue stripe will be painted just below the toe rail.

I love the look of wood! So, of course, I will not paint everything. Many pieces will be painted with spar varnish; toe rail, hand rails, hatch board, cabin rails, mast, boom, spar, rudder stock and tiller.

I am also asked about my splash date... and again, my answer is, "I don't know". But one thing I do know, there will be a party at the splash!

Puddle Duck to Pool

As some of you know, I have two PDRacers.

Today, I thought I would take the tarp off them and make sure they are okay. Wow, my tarp has not been doing it's job... it is worn out! The Ducks were stacked one on top of the other. The blue Duck, the one on top, had about 4 inches of water standing in it. The poor think was pretty pitiful looking. Green and black stuff covering the whole thing.

It was built to keep water out, not in. The ply has started to delaminate in a couple of places. Okay, now what do I do with it? I had already wondered this because I didn't see myself ever sailing it again. Then I had a thought.... it's been really hot lately....and it does hold water very well. Hummmmmm, I got it! A pool! So today, it was decommissioned and took on the role of POOL!

I pulled it off the trailer, slid it to the backyard and began the clean up. When it was cleaned and leveled, I started the filling of my new pool. My neighbor's patio is just on the other side of my chain link fence, so I use the sail for privacy. Clever, huh?

Ahhhh, refreshing. I will enjoy it much more as a pool than a boat. I am planning a pool party this weekend, drop on by!

TX200...Paul's Mott to Seadrift

Friday June 15, 2012

Winds were high, but we flew both sails. I took us across San Antonio Bay. It was a short day, we arrived at Seadrift about 1:30 pm.

While I was standing around visiting with folks, Mike Beebe came and asked me if I wanted to take a ride in his paradox. Without hesitation, I said, "YES". I grabbed a paddle and climbed in. We paddled out of the marina, which was not a small feat. The winds were right on our nose and blowing hard. Once out, Mike raised the sail and I took the tiller. Mike was so nice to do this for me. He knew I was building one and thought it would inspire me to get my paradox finished. He was right.

There was a meal for us this evening, along with cases of donated Shiner beer. We were treated very well.

This year, there were 6 female folk that made the trip. We all had a great time and did not regret our decision to do it. I made many new friends and I plan to keep in touch with them all.

Cathy and Charlie

Rosa keeping the Sailor Jerry safe.

Awdree, Lindsey, Me and Brittany

I was asked many times if I would make the trip next year. My answer, yes... in TARDIS.