Almost Launched!!

Puffin hits the water on May 8th.
Steadily preparing for the journey- The Triangle Loop- a northern side trip of the Great Loop- around May 20th.
Scrambling to get electronic things done on land, much easier.
Almost finished sanding the bottom and hope to paint as soon as it stops raining. We have had so much rain in the last few weeks, our yard looks like a jungle. Where was this rain when we really needed it?
Our 8 ft mast is propped in place, waiting for the OK from marine electronics  people that we are wiring correctly and then finishing up and securing in place in front of the pilot house.
Dean is attaching a first mate chair on the opposite side from the captain's chair and wheel so I or whomever not steering can sit high enough to see what is going on in front and all around us. He is making a wooden insert for the front V-berth so we can have a larger and more comfortable sleeping area. I have ordered the foam  we need ( a 28"X 28") piece that we can cut to size.
We are anxiously anticipating the arrival of davit mounting brackets so when attached to the boat the davits can swivel together across the back of the boat at a dock or slip so we don't get charged for an extra 3 feet or get tangled with another boat in tight docking situations.

I, Suzan, am gathering items from my extensive list, and finding places to stow onboard.
Bed and bath linens, food and food containers- non perishable food in plastic bags or containers and other containers for leftovers. My list is very long. I am trying to take as much as we can for most of the trip in non perishables so we only have to purchase fresh along the way. See Joy Smith's www.joysmith.net books on "The Perfect First Mate", and "Kitchen Afloat". Joy has lots of great ideas for making your boat your home away from home.
Dean has secured a place to dock Puffin where we can work on her until we start our journey.