The Undoing Project for a perfect boat

Our boat is the undoing project.  Drew sees things on this boat that were done incorrectly and redoes them.  Having just finished Michael Lewis's The Undoing Project (author of Moneyball, The Blind Side, The Big Short) I was struck with how Drew's mind works similarly to Tversky's and Kahneman's.  He looks for systems in the boat that were not rational, though they appear to be, and proves they used faulty reasoning by correcting them.  "It doesn't work well."   I know this isn't a direct correlation, but I'm seeing Drew take each area and undo and redo and talk about the installers' or manufacturer's thinking.  Most of the undoing is the third party installs not Island Packet's.  His engineering explanations and thoughts are highly regarded on the Island Packet blog as well because he usually has new ways of seeing a problem.

He slipped into the cockpit locker to repack it and then saw he needed to reroute the vent line for the water and fuel tanks and the hoses.  Hmmm, he just noticed and had to change it.  In the past we also undid a grounding system by  ripping out tons of copper foil that was part of the single side band radio grounding system.  It was causing all kinds of problems with lightening strikes that did in our navigation equipment a couple of times.   We undid the courtesy lights because the manufacture had incorrectly wired them - faulty reasoning.  Just didn't work.  How many of these projects all over the boat need to be redone.? Why am I wondering as I witness each system being rethought by Drew and then slowly undone/redone?  The toilet hoses, the holding tank, the battery banks, the wind generator, the air conditioning system, the navigation station, the hoses all over the boat - their material, flexibility, direction, angle and connectors.  All of this stuff over 13 years he rethinks to make it better, and it is.  Life with an inventor and perfectionist.   He said, "I'm bothered by things that are not as they should be.  I like to look at something and see how perfectly it's done.  That doesn't happen very often.  When I look at the details of something that's when things show up that are more of a problem than I thought."

So it goes.  I participate by following directions, small time necessary help - finding stuff, errands, cleaning, traditional female supportive role that I hate because it feels too submissive to me.  When I go ahead and try to repair something Drew usually undoes and redoes it.  Why try? Once in a while as you've seen I get hoisted up the mast or dive under the boat - those are my highlights.  Love the adventure of traveling, exploring new places and sailing.


Yesterday my explore included the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park a mile away.  There is a Coastal Hammock Trail that has a one page nature guide explaining a hammock.  A hammock is a piece of land, a little higher elevation from the rest of the land.  It is a small hardwood forest with a high canopy.  I take walks with Mazu when she's allowed.  I am not a Mary Oliver who delights in nature (through her wonderful poetry) alone.  I'd always rather take a walk or hike with a friend, always, and share the delight in nature.

Here's a skinny, tall, Gumbo Limbo tree with its red, peeling bark,

When it's bigger:

I remember a great environmental science novel a student recommended The Missing Gator of Gumbo Limbo by Jean George Craighead that I read aloud.  Immediate applause  came when it ended.

A wild spiky lime trees with leaves that when folded smelled of tart lime (cabbage palm behind.)

Strangler fig, Hercules Club - the toothache tree - eating the bark numbs the mouth.  Also Saw Palmetto that creeps along the ground, the Sabal Palm or Cabbage Palm, Live Oak with spreading branches holding orchids and air plants, and Red Bay with a spicy fragrant leaf.  Hammocks are hard to come by and Florida tries to protect the few that are left.
At the end of the island is the inlet.  People at 8:00 am were already taking surf boards to the beach side. Here's a little view of the inlet.

Hanging out around the docks there's a pavilion where anyone can do big projects, have a party, bbq, or read.

Fish cleaning tables attach along the long dock.  This is the first time I saw anyone with a big catch scratching off the scales to prepare for cooking and giving away to friends.

At the end of the warm day reading and a swim in the parking lot pool.