Not a Boat, But Still a Build

When my good friend Nancy Keegan commented on my first post, I smiled and thought, “This feels familiar.”

Years ago, she was also reading along as I documented another project that I wasn’t entirely sure I knew how to do: rebuilding a boat.

When I started A Boat ReBorn, there were a lot of things I didn’t know.

It’s not just that I had a lot to learn about a boat: 

I didn’t know how long it would take
I didn’t know how much I would have to learn
I didn’t know how expensive it would be
I didn’t know how many mistakes I would make
I didn’t know how attached I would become
I didn’t know how much patience it would require

Maybe ignorance really is bliss. If I knew how much salt (blood, sweat, and tears) it would take, would I have plunged in?

Rebuilding that old Kingscraft houseboat became a labor of love. 

As I looked through my old blog, I saw this picture:

I realized that some things change, and some things…. just don’t. I still love the combination of hanging with pups, drinking coffee, reading a book, and watching the water. Different pups, different coffee, different books, different water. Same girl. Or is it the same girl? I’ve changed a lot too (through all of the beautiful and horrible experiences that saying Yes has brought my way).

And I realized there was an important word missing from what I said earlier.

When I started A Boat ReBorn, there were a lot things I didn’t know…YET.

I figured things out (the journey to success is not linear)
I asked questions (oh, the people I met)
I researched (my natural tendency)
I tried things (ready, fire… then aim)
I adjusted (failures on the way to triumphs)
I kept going (resolve and resiliency)

That feels familiar again.

As I think back on the ReBirth of that Boat, I think about the things I learned, the people I met, the friends who helped me rebuild and then celebrated with me when she was ready. 

I remember the sound of rain on her aluminum deck, and I remember the gentle rocking on the water as I slept aboard. I remember the first time I turned the faucet and water came out. I remember moving on board before she was finished because I knew that living there would be the push I needed to keep going!

I remember the renaming ceremony (from “Nauta Priority” to “Empress Bennu”). I remember living in a marina where friends, acquaintances, and even strangers stopped by to share stories and laughter.

And I remember the anguish of learning that she sank.

I don’t know exactly what this new build – this new business – will look like, but I do know how to begin (with a small yes).

Now, more than 15 years later, I am starting a new blog and I’m building something new (again).

This blog may not include lists of marine epoxy or wiring diagrams, but I suspect it will include:

lessons learned
things that worked
things that didn’t
ideas worth sharing
things I wish I had known earlier
things I am still figuring out

And I can’t wait to see where this goes – where YES will lead me next.

Some projects are physical.  Some are professional. In some way, most are also personal.

All of them involve building something that doesn’t exist… yet.

And yes, I sure hope this one stays afloat. 

Yes.