K.I.S.S

No, I'm not getting all fuzzy and romantic on you.  K.I.S.S is our newest motto.  It stands for "Keep It Simple Stupid" and there is a LOT of wisdom in this snarky little acronym. 

We are getting down to the wire.  While we have made headway on a lot of projects (if you count "headway" as having conversations, information gathering, making plans about plans, and lots and lots of flipping through the West Marine catalog), we still have a LOT to do.  We are still expecting to leave in September and when we say this to people we meet around the yard or at West Marine, lots of them raise an eyebrow, shake their head (some even dramatically wipe their foreheads, you know, for impact) and say, "you've got a lot to do in a little time".  Oh, we know...we know.  But (*universe, hear me now!*) we ARE leaving in September...because if we don't, well - we will have to endure another Chicago winter and we just don't want to do that. 

So - what does this mean for us?  We are going to have to prioritize.  We are going to have to choose between the must haves and the wants.  We are going to have to sacrifice.  Luckily for us, we are going to be cruising along the east coast for a while and many of the unfinished projects can be completed as we go.  But we do have a list of essentials.  The least of which to plug the 6 holes in our boat.  A boat's gotta float, you know.

A friend gave me some advice (it's nothing new - but he articulated it in an email so I can directly quote him here):

Focus on some important things, make it sailable, and pretty reliable, and get out there. Otherwise you'll spend tons of money and be sitting at the dock.

In other words, K.I.S.S.  And that is what we are going to do.  We will NOT have refrigeration, we will have simple, straightforward electronics, and we're not going to get caught up in making our boat "perfect" - because we all know that is a loosing battle.

Here is our immediate "punch" list which will make our boat "sailable" and "reliable":
1) Install new engine (in progress - thanks Retner Marine)
2) Replace through-hulls (in progress, old ones are out, new ones bought - just need installation)
3) Replace steering system (in progress, Edson has outfitted several of our style of boat with cable and chain steering and we have the parts list - just need to purchase and install)
4) Update electronics (in progress, we know what we need - have the part numbers - just need to get it ordered and get it all in)

These are the MUST haves.  Yes, we know they are significant. Yes, we know that they will take time. Yes, we know that people usually tackle projects of this magnitude over a couple of seasons.  Luckily for us our boat has "good bones" - she is very solid, structurally sound and impecably well-maintained and we have an incredible support network of family (namely; my dad, my uncle Bob and my uncle Bill) and there is a lot of comfort in that. 

Now that spring has sprung here in Chicago - it's go time!!

Love,

Brittany & Scott

PS.  This weekend, we have LOTS of fun projects going on - I'll tell you all about it next week!