Jessica Ryanof the boat made things too difficult for most people to fit into
their lives. We were a five-hour drive away for friends based in
Brisbane, and our family lived in New Zealand across the Tasman
Sea. We were faced with the question: Do we sell or keep going,
knowing it is now even more daunting than when we started?
Damien was willing to try but left the decision to me. I wanted
to do something I felt passionate about, so the answer came easily
in the end: We would keep going and find a way to finish the
work. And it was the best decision we have ever made.
THE WORK CONTINUES
Every job on the boat, from flattening the deck to jack
hammering rubberized paint off the hull, was bigger and harder
than we had imagined. We discovered techniques to help with
each part of the work, but we had work lists that numbered
hundreds of items long. For the first couple of years, we had to
learn to deal with the feeling of not making visible progress. But
we learned how to pace ourselves, the individual tasks, and we
accepted blowing budgets and timelines. (It helped to realize
that both are actually flexible and adjustable.) You never know
when a power tool will die or when two weeks of unbearable
Before and after shot of the impressive work the couple did to remove
rust and the old systems prior to engine installation and repainting.
Postscript