Good day as my boat got her papers. She is no longer an illegal immigrant but an official Okinawan resident. To be frank I am not sure how it happened as the excellent Tabata san sort of took care of it with the minimum of fuss. I now have the registration document and all the necessary stickers for Kanusha.

Aregato Tabata san!

It was another very social day down at the boatyard.  First my new buddy Sato san  and I discuss new engine prospects. He has tracked down a 1Gm10 in Osaka that has been fully overhauled and what is more the people there will take my motor in part exchange. So next priority is to get the engine taken out of the boat. The organizational skills that I have honed over the last 40 years are under test, but once again the most important feature of getting things done is proving to be – make friends with people.

Sato san – he is a very funny guy.

I sand, I varnish, I clean.

All the wood was so desiccated  that endless coats of wood treater and varnish are needed. The black bits have had 4 coats of the former and two of the latter.

I also rebuild the floorboard thing for the cockpit. Many planks were broken, so these I replaced with new wood.  Somehow all the screws had become loose, which I attribute to  wood shrinkage due to intense sun exposure. I tighten and drench everything in wood treatment stuff.

My foundation for years to come

As I am about to leave, two guys pass by. They know my boat, they know Tagushi san, the former owner. They talk a lot, I understand little. I think they were somehow involved in transporting the boat from mainland Japan to Miyako Jima 6 years ago. Anyway they are clearly delighted to see the restoration underway and we slash our palms with sharp knives to become blood brothers.