At the risk of jinxing the whole she-bang, the long long saga of repairing my boat is finally done. It’s ALIVE!! It roared to life in the driveway last night and by all indications seems to be performing to spec. It ought to be since by the time I was done I had basically replaced the entire electrical system.

Still, it was way cheaper than a new boat, and much less than paying someone else to swear at it. However, I did learn a thing or two. One: marine parts are damned expensive. Two: I don’t want to be a boat mechanic.

The proof will be this weekend when it gets dunked in the lake. I’m gonna be one damned ornery puppy if it runs for 10 minutes and dies. It ran for the first 21 years without any trouble at all. All I’m expecting is another 21 now that this is done. Yeah right. But I’d settle for a good summer or two.