So close I can smell the ocean....
... even though Lake Union is fresh water. (Must be my overactive imagination.)
We have a completed survey! We have insurance! We have someone to haul the boat to Lake Union! We have someone to drive the boat to the slip! Our beloved boat seller Gary, Man of the Year, is finishing repairs today. Steve is at the department of licensing as we speak. All systems are go!
I can hardly believe it. I wish you could understand how many phone calls I've had to make in the past 3 weeks. It's ludicrous. I dealt with 12 insurance agencies and about 14 marine surveyors until I could convince one to give us liability and the other to journey all the way to Raymond to have a look-see at our vessel.
The survey last Wednesday went splendidly. Gary, who has little respect for surveyors, always refers to them in quotes. The "surveyor" said this needed to be fixed. Or that guy came to "survey" the boat. Gary builds 150 foot catamarans for a living. I trust his judgement.
We'll follow up with an in-depth detail of the survey results. The issues were all minor, and almost all of them will be remedied by the end of this week. (propane system, flares, fire extinguishers, other assorted shortcomings)
The wonderful woman I work with offered her services to help us move the boat on Monday. (Next MONDAY!) She's an angel. She says, "Why aren't you moving the boat?" and I said "Um, we can't drive". And she said, "And you got a FORTY foot boat?" and I said "Um, yes."
She also informed me that B.O.A.T. actually stands for "Bring on another thousand." My dad used to have a bar sign that had the definition: "Boat: a hole in the water into which one pours money."
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a raise in July.