Although the boat was purchased in February, we waited for some time for some new drydock space to be cleared. The boat was moved to Lockhaven Marina in July of '97 and we began to rip out what was left of the inside and stripped the inside of all the old paint. We put gray bilge paint throughout the insides and began to replace broken and wimpy deak beams. In the Summer of '97 we had no schedule, only dreams of hitting the water by Halloween. (hah!) As Fall hit we moved the boat under a tarp and got some outside lights to work on it in the evening. We also began to get pressure to make more progress. At the time, we three rookies did not realize the size of the project we took on. In December we started on a 3 day a week schedule, Tuesday & Thursday evenings and all day Sunday. It was the only way it was going to get done by a reasonable time, but it was at that time, that John decided to walk away from the project. John wanted a hobby and this boat had turned into a real chore and stress among friends is not worth it. John often stops by to help out, and always gives us some useful insight or advice to whatever problem is at hand.
None of us really knew what we were getting ourselves into. It was never supposed to take this long!