Nowhere does the romance of boat building stray farther from the reality of boat building than it does in a fiberglass boat. Dream not of long, precise shavings curling away from a beautiful piece of wood under the guidance of a fine plane. The mix of glass and epoxy is sticky, itchy, toxic and obstinate. It will test the strongest wills of men and tools. About both fiberglass and life, no truer words were ever spoken than these by Calvin Coolidge:
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
And so it is with boat building. I have completely restructured my life to build this boat. My relationship to work, money, friends and time have all changed. So many things that seemed important have slipped away for this focusing down and concentrating. In those brief moments of looking back I find this both unnerving and exciting. And sometimes, late at night, sealed in Tyvek, drawing air through my respirator, listening for hours to the dampened drone of my 4-1/2" angle grinder through two inches of acoustic foam, I wonder whether it is me rebuilding a boat, or a boat rebuilding me.
