Spring Is Coming!!!

We are just a couple days away from Spring and it couldn't come soon enough!

The Sun is shining today, but there is still a nip in the air, so the Captain is at the marina working on the interior of The Tiki Hut. 

In an ongoing effort to turn her into a party boat, there are a number of projects that need to be done, a few that have been started that need to be finished! 

Then, important decisions must be made, like where to put my Hula Girl.

The new fresh-water tank is in place, and I'm working on replacing the bulkhead that needed to be removed to make that happen. The middle section of the bulkhead has apparently been removed before - the crooked cuts suggest a handsaw was used!

Or perhaps a beaver... I don't know.

Then I plan to replace the woolly material that is glued all over the cabin interior.

Yes, that is the ceiling.

But more than anything, I want to put the plugs back in the engine, re-attach the hoses, fire her up and get back out on the water! 

A guy can dream, right?

Not planning to buy a new engine this year! 

A guy can dream, right?

Meanwhile, at the other end of the pier, the sailboat owners are in trouble.

Back in February, you may recall, that end of the pier broke away on one side and started drifting toward Pier 3. The temporary fix was to tie ropes to shore trees and pull the pier back into place.

Looking down the pier, the far end used to be as straight as the foreground.

The ropes apparently broke a couple weeks later and she was adrift again.

Such movement is not good for a pier that was already in bad shape.

The break-away has played well in the plans of the marina, which has wanted to tear off the sailboat slips and replace them with covered slips.

Captain's Note: Despite the pleasing aesthetic created by a line of sailboats bobbing at dock, the marina can charge twice as much for covered slips.

More pontoon boats! Yay! [Not.]

So, realizing the repairs to the pier would be cost-prohibitive, the marina management is accelerating its plans to remove that end of the pier. Sailboat owners (Captain Whitebeard included) have been notified they will be moved to slips on other piers, as available.

And when those fill up...?

Well, there are other marinas in the area.

And in the meantime, the marina is using the winter down-time to renovate the interior of the marina store.

Because that's apparently where the money is. 

Those KDM t-shirt for $30!

Soon The Tiki Hut will be sailing again! 

C'mon, Spring! Get here already!

Captain's Update:  I know you've been concerned about my mystery rash of recent. After battling it for more than a year, your Captain thinks he's finally got a handle on it. Although the laundry detergent we were using was a "free and clear" type, I switched from the "pod' form back to the liquid form of the same brand.

This has made a big difference, although I can't explain why.

But then, a couple weeks ago, the Captain bought two new "Salt Life" long-sleeve t-shirts.

They were on sale for only $9; who could pass that up!

But although I washed them before wearing, I suddenly began itching again. Referring back to the patch-test the Captain submitted to last month - which determined I am severely allergic to formaldehyde - I discovered that the chemicals that make a garment "perma-press" often contain formaldehyde. So now I'll be washing the hell out of every new piece of clothing I buy before wearing it.

The Captain thanks you for your concern.

Or for your patience if you weren't concerned.