1981 Catalina 25

We Call Her " She " When I kayak-camped Old Hickory Lake in the fall of 2016, I learned that a broader view of my "ordinary life" created a matching horizon and that every adventure whether great or small sharpens a dull perspective.  Buying the Catalina 25' was a precarious risk, but the benefits are already self-evident. My shed was a dump, my tools unrecognizable. Now, electricity, a coffee pot, beer fridge, roll-away tool-chest and wireless internet access embolden my determination. I created a space for design drawings and then built an inexpensive workbench from lumber costing less than fifty dollars. The Catalina’s previous owner had abandoned an assortment of useful and expensive accessories, including the additional winches and running-rigging for single-handed sailing. I calculated the “used” or “second-hand” value of the equipment stowed in the sailboat’s cabin, along with the tandem-axle trailer. The exercise encouraged my optimism. I valu...

Work-space For almost ten years, our 16ft. X 10ft. Spacemaker shed housed the junk that I cleared out of our basement when I converted the space into a yoga room, an office and a studio. Although I referred to the outbuilding as the garden shed, it became, over time, a storage room for all of those “rainy day” items. Now, more than one thousand rainy days later, I decided to empty the shed. When I opened the doors, I couldn’t step inside without pulling things out of the way. I didn’t take a picture, but even if I had, I still wouldn’t post it here. The place was a shambles, an overwhelming sight and sharing it would cause such embarrassment. Allowing the space to evolve in that way was a personal trait that I hadn’t noticed before. How could I be such a clutter-bug? Nevertheless, with a 12ft. tall sailboat on a 30ft. trailer parked in the yard, and a gutsy, determined attitude, I took a deep breath...and begged my wife for her help. We went through the stuff and voted ...