The seven-year itch

Nothing to do with boat building

Well, we've quietly slipped into our eighth year of this project. I recall laughing at someone else's blog when they had taken over 2 years to complete!

It really doesn't seem that long and, as I have said before, the actual time spent building is probably more or less within the 200 hours that the supplier of the plans and kit predicted.

The Kit (saw not provided)

Plenty has happened in the years since we started: Joe's kids have grown up and left home (well, not Harry, obviously). In 2010, my eldest boy, Owen, was in his early days at primary school: he started at High School this year.
I am sorry to say we have both lost our mothers in that time.

Between us, we have won lots of medals as coaches and made a decent contribution of effort and guidance to Wellington Rowing Club. Generally speaking, those who won congratulated themselves, while those who lost blamed the coaches, which is, of course, entirely fair, though Joe and I have observed a spooky correlation between training properly and those medals (probably a coincidence).

I think I can speak for both of us when I say that, despite a vague sense that we ought to finish this project, we are pretty much happy with what we have done and how we have done it. The boat is beautiful and will be finished, but that's not the point: the fun has been in working together, solving problems and learning new skills.

I am looking forward to the next seven years...