Next Stop...um...

Well, we really need to be making our way north...but we haven't left yet.  The simple reason...we aren't quite sure where to go.  Due to insurance we need to be north of Cape Hattaras by June 1st, but they don't really care where beyond that.

Right now, the controlling factor is trying to figure out where we can go so we can make some progress on the hard top project.  For quite a while now I've wanted to replace the soft bimini on the boat with a hard top.  The new top would provide me with a safer way to access the boom and would provide a good platform for the solar I want to add to the boat.

I've tried getting this project rolling several times now after the $15K sticker shock of the pre-fabricated top I found, but have not had much luck.  Lack of reliable tradespeople have been a big issue (this project was originally on the list for the yard last year in Deltaville...where they barely accomplished anything in the course of the summer).  While I'm not an expert, I think I can manage to build a fiberglass top myself (especially when most of the surface will be covered in solar panels or non-skid), but the issue there is having decent work space and access to a good welder.

I thought I might be able to get the project going while in Hammock, but the work space I thought might work out ended up not being a good option.  And the welder I had hoped to use (one that did a great job on some minor welding I had done before) apparently had a stroke and I found the family was auctioning off the business when I arrived back in the area.  It is very sad as a good person in the boating industry is hard to find and I'm sure he will be missed.

A blogging friend has offered to help with the project and right now that seems like the best possibility.  But there are logistical issues with timing and if the yard they are stationed at can accommodate my boat (catamarans just don't fit everywhere...particularly narrow slips and Travellift bays). Throw in the fact we still have cars and it sounds like we may need them for the project and shuttling them back up the coast and storing them as we travel is another added wrinkle.

So, other than continuing cataloging everything we have and fixing things that seem to continually break on the boat, we are working on leaving as soon as we can get a plan to firm up a bit.  Maybe things will fall in place tomorrow...keeping my fingers crossed.