Evicted

So, I was away for one stinkin' weekend and I got kicked out.

Last weekend, I did something very foolish and crazy which was to rescue another Pearson Triton from being cut up. #385 needed a new home quickly and I couldn't let her die a horrible death so I have taken her in. I have no idea what to do with her.

When I started looking for an Alberg boat I found #385 sitting in my cousin's boatyard. When I asked my cousin about it he forbid me from investigating. The boat had come to the yard ten plus years earlier and had not moved since. The yearly storage fees continued to be paid promptly. He was not about to let that cash cow go. It was the easiest income he had. I had to look elsewhere for my Triton.

Unfortunately for #385, she was set in the corner of the yard and forgotten. She sailed in in apparently decent shape but was then left with the rig up and uncovered for over ten years. Ten years of New England snow and ice. Ten years of hot scorching summer sun. Whatever was good about the boat was lost. The decks are soft and to the point of being unable to stand upon. The deck and cabin skins are a maze of stress cracks. Water appears to have pooled up in the cabin. There is a nice blowout under the ballast pig through the bottom of the boat. All that is left is a disassembled engine, some ancient sails, and some bronze hardware.

The owner of #385 was finally persuaded to part with the boat and in the past few years has gone through a few owners with ideas of restoring her.

I knew she was in rough shape. She is probably rougher than I thought even. I have no idea what to do with the boat but I wasn't ready to let another Triton get cut up.

For now #385 is safe and is well blocked and covered. What comes next is anyone's guess.

And that is why I was away last weekend which resulted in my eviction.

You see, while I was busy saving the world, one Triton at a time, a young mother, very pregnant, was in urgent need of a safe place to raise her children. In my absence a nice quiet and safe spot turned out to be the top of my ladder that was left upright alongside the cockpit of Jenny.

Now my ladder is home for a young morning dove and two new eggs. I can't move the nest for fear of disturbing the mother into abandoning her chicks. I can't work around the new inhabitants because the ladder is only a few feet from where I need to be and frankly, my winter waist is still too big for me to fit comfortably through the fore hatch.

Anyone know how long it takes a dove to hatch her chicks and send them out on their own?...

For this weekend, at least, I think I will work on some other boat projects at home and catch up on some car and house maintenance while I am at it.

I have been stopped by 8 ounces of fluff that only wants a safe quiet place to raise her young. What can I do?