Schizophrenic? Naw. Not me. Maybe some of these other guys?

For some of us, the "meaning of life" is pretty simple to explain. It's a footrace, with the undertaker and the orthopedic surgeon. Granted, most of us don't get to know where the finish line is. And, I'll just ignore the fact that we're all destined to come in third, in this three-man race.

But, for now, I'd say that I've got a good lead on the pack, and I've even picked up the pace.

Sure, there's still a bit of snow on the ground; there's even snow in the forecast. The lakes are still covered with a thinning layer of ice. The calendar still defiantly displays FEBRUARY. But, doggone it. Time's awasting. Summer could be here any time now. Spring, for sure.

Speaking of calendars, the first messabout/cruise of the season is scheduled for less than three weeks from now! I have at least two boats that have "applied for the position." This early-season messabout is happening over on what they call the "Wet Side" of Washington State, at the confluence of those two local seasons known as Still-Winter and Not-yet-Spring. You just might have those two climatic nuances occur in your own home sailing waters.

The folks who work in my own Boatshop Scheduling Department have further kinda' fuzzed things together, as well.

You see, it's sort of like this. Somehow, when they looked at the calendar back around Christmas time, they laid out a pretty comprehensive building and maintenance program. I was impressed. Just about everything fit together. Granted, the maintenance folks were going to need to put on an extra shift and work overtime. Ditto for the building folks. But, it all fit together, pretty well.

Then, we had some sort of computer glitch. They happen from time to time in a far-flung operation like this one. Maybe somebody simply didn't get the memo. Stuff like that does happen. Anyhow.

The boat scheduled to go on this almost-here "Damn the Drizzle' cruise over in the Puget Sound country got hauled home from storage, lifted off her trailer, and rolled into the shop on that veteran, shop-worn, building cart.

The cart that seems to get more and more beat up as it gets asked to carry heavier and bigger boats around. That particular boat, would be "Roughneck," the frankenbot project from last winter. There was still a lot of work to get done before the March event. But, like I said, the Planning Dept. had a handle on it. Or, so I thought.

One morning, when I went out to the shop to just sort of check on things, everything was in a tizzy. The building folks had put "Roughneck" back on her trailer and hauled her off to storage again. Talk about a lot of man hours and effort. Somehow, there was yet another forlorn hull sitting on the building cart with piles of stuff being ripped out and perfectly good plywood getting reduced to dust, noise, and small chunks all around it.

Little "Punkin' Seed" was being lifted off her trailer and dumped upside down on some furniture movers.

The shop was in total meltdown, with stuff from about three other boat projects, Christmas projects, and even piles of shavings and chain saw leavings from my "new hobby" of chainsaw carving. The place was a total mess. So, I got the maintenance folks, the building folks, the creative guys, and even the cleaning crew all around the table and we hashed things out. I ranted and yelled a little. Pointed to the calendar. And, said, "What 'r you guys gonna' do about this mess!?!"

Once again, I was impressed.

All the department heads said they'd put on an extra shift, or two. Most of 'em said they'd offer all the overtime anybody wanted to work. And, all I gotta' say, is that somehow they all pulled it off.

The building guys got a whole 'nuther boat put together and loaded. That would be the decked-over runabout, "Strumpet."

The cleaning guys did a complete shop overhaul and wall-to-wall cleaning. They even painted the floor. Yep, I was impressed.

The maintenance guys got little "Punkin' Seed" rolled back over and all the seams and possible leaks glassed over. They're out there putting fairing compound on, as we speak. Primer and paint to follow.

The schedulers really got their act back together, and decided to bring "Roughneck" back for windows, motor and controls, interior wiring, trailer overhaul, and simple stuff like that. Except, she's too tall to get back in the shop, sitting high in the saddle on that trailer. No problem. The building guys and the maintenance guys assured me that they could work on "Roughneck" out in the driveway during daylight and between rain storms.

They're gonna' keep working on "Punkin' Seed" during the night shifts. And, best of all: Everybody PROMISED the cleanup crew that they would remember to put stuff away, and sweep up at the end of their shift, and even re-paint the floor if they messed it up with paint drips and epoxy glops.

I just can't tell you how impressed I am. Those guys have it dialed in. Should be a piece a' cake. I'll let you know how it all works out. Or, you can just ask those other guys, how it's goin'.

To comment on Duckworks articles, please visit one of the following:

our Yahoo forum

our Facebook page