Papa San is on “the hard” getting repairs and new bottom paint. I call it the treehouse part of the venture. I must climb a ladder to get on and off the boat every day. The first day it was a new experience and the thing you see in a boat yard you don’t see anywhere else. Luckily the yard is by the Perry Hotel and marina. A upscale hotel and marina so one can walk over and get a taste of upscale and pricey drinks.
This trip is slowly allowing me to unpack much of what I could not afford to process over the last 10 years. I simply look back and am surprised I didn’t end up in a looney bin or bankrupt. That is for another time.
The “Papa San” reminds me of the first house I purchased in West Caldwell. I am sure many friends when the first saw the inside thought, what did she do? The house was about 100 years old and the foundation was boulders. When you popped up the drop ceiling it had 10-foot ceiling and beautiful molding that had been hacked up in parts. She needed work but was unique and houses like this were not going to be built again. So, with a bit of knowledge and youthful optimism (naïve is better) one plows ahead and buys a project. Fast forward five years later, after tons of work the inside was amazing. A classic! When Tom and I sold the West Caldwell Project, we made our first big gain on a house. I still have fond memories of how wonderful that house looked coming in the front door and the beautiful Chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. I do regret letting the owners keep the antique chandeliers, we had combed antique stores to match the house for ages. I can only hope our work and love will not disappear. I doubt a house like that will ever be torn down.
“Papa San” is another classic that you won’t find built like this again. She is a 1987 42 Kadey-Krogen. Kadey-Krogen no longer builds this size, so, she is classic. Kadey-Krogen builds boats that are very serious. New ones cost in the millions and of course we are not spending that on a boat. So, the journey begins of giving some love to an older Kadey-Krogen and bringing her back to “like new”. Along the way I hope to have some wonderful moments with people I have not meet and places I have not been to.
The Pap-San is getting the work done at the 3D Boat Yard in Key West. We are very please with the quality and diligence of the work being done. Marty the service manager is on point. The work is a good bottom job (sand, epoxy, paint), some fiberglass repairs, and repairs to the bow Thruster hole that started leaking. The “Papa-San” had one thru hole knocked out to get replaced. It was original to the boat. After a time getting it knocked out the serviceman says, “Now that is a boat and that is a hull”. They don’t make many hulls like that, it is so thick.” I felt this way when I got things made for the West Caldwell House, craftsmen when they respect the item they are working on, they do an extra good job. Somehow one wants to be part of maintaining the classic. I so appreciate a craftsman or repairman that knows his/her trade and does a good job. Hence, my naive but optimistic buy of a unique classic that needs work. Just like the West Caldwell House, I am falling in love with the boat. The solid bones and unique character make me smile. There is elbow grease and money to be put in her, however, she is going to be stunning in a few years.
We had the big tree house question asked by a boatyard neighbor yesterday. “Are your getting the boatyard blues yet”? The timing was impeccable – the boatyard blues were hitting us bigtime. Time to splash this baby again. Is there a boatyard blues song or sonnet we can at least play on the stern and sing to as we watch the sun go down?
