It didn’t really hit me until I locked her up for the last time and walked back to my car. Sitting in my car crying all I could think about was all of the great memories we made in this boat since 2013 when I bought her. I had bought her myself in an effort to move both my relationship with Fred and our sailing life in a forward direction.
Our first boat, a 27ft Starwind, was an amazing boat and we stayed on her every weekend for years. But Gimme, a 34ft Oday offered us a fridge, and a double sink, and so many more comfort items that made our weekends so much easier.
Over the years we have had a steady stream of projects. Installing central AC, upgrading all the canvas, upgrading the engine, replacing the fridge compressor, redoing windows and hand rails so that she has no leaks, etc. All the time we talked about what our next boat might look like but not really getting any closer to making the move.
For the last year or so there have not really been any projects. The boat is pretty solid and relatively low maintenance by design. We’ve reached a point where we couldn’t really do any upgrades either, as it makes no sense to put $20,000 worth of equipment on a $20,000 dollar boat.
Fred picked up a 67 Cougar car project, but now even that is nearing is completion and the time had really come. It was time to get a new bigger project boat.
The first step to that is clean our boat out completely and to get her on the market. I went to Lowes and got us some giant plastic tubs and we started taking everything that wasn’t specific to our boat out of it. I then untuffted all of the cushions and took them home to wash and retuft. It took about four days of two people working with magic erasers to get every bit of the inside and outside spotless.
Sunday night I was sweaty and dirty from a day of hard scrubbing. I backed my way out of the boat cleaning all of the floors one last time. As I locked the door and walked back to the car it felt like we were losing a member of the family. I gave Fred a call and we reminded each other that no change is ever easy, and that this is the first step to our next great adventure.
svgimmeshelter 
your mom said you had bought a new boat It is difficult to give up something you are familiar with I remember how hard it was to get rid of cars you get attached to them. Happy adventuring with your new boat and remember all the good times you and Fred had together with Gimme Shelter
Beautifully expressed, Mary .. I’m certain your next “adventure” will be enriched by the powerful memories you two have shared aboard this “Vessel” of physical, cerebral, and spiritual forward motion. Best wishes in sailing onward.
Aww that must have been hard! Best of luck in your new boat search.
Good luck with everything that comes next