The man who owned the boat before me (John) lived on it for thirteen years. He was a fisherman, so the boat was brimming with fishing gear. He was 84 years old when we sold it to me and did not want to actually sell it. Rather, his kids made him sell it, because he was sick--he had since moved to Arizona to live with this daughter. The boat was dirty and dingy by the time I found it, since it had been sitting empty for at least a year.
The first time we opened the boat up, the air was so heavy, as if you were walking into a cloud of invisible fog. It reminded me of those cartoons from my childhood where someone would walk into a dark cave, not knowing what would be inside, and a flock of bats would come flying out. As I looked around, I was envisioning all the ways I would change and update everything; I could see the potential.
In the main solon, John had a giant recliner chair and a cumbersome old floral fabric couch that ate up most of the room. They were both facing a tv he had perched on top of the wood shelf. In the kitchen, things were sprawled all over the counters and tables, bins were shoved under all the staircases and tables, making the boat seem more cluttered than necessary. I couldn't wait to clear out all his things and CLEAN, so I could start organizing my own belongings. Lots of online shopping began at this point.
Clearing out his things took about a week. John drove down from Arizona to gather everything, and it seemed like he had a hard time saying bye to the boat, because it took him a few days longer to be out than he originally told me. He left his couches, which were complete HELL to get out. We had to lift them up the steps and out of the doors, then somehow get them over the side railings. I had my brother and mom come help and we ended up having to detach the entire side railing to get his things out. But we got it done. My mom and I spent another week cleaning, even though John hired his maid to come clean before he left. Then I started bringing car fulls of my things down and unloading.
Before pictures are on the left, after pictures are on the right!
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