What will it weigh

 

Sometime after Susie and I moved here to the hills I was talking to someone about what a current boat project was going to weigh. It was probably our son Mike here on a visit, to the best of my knowledge the only maritime discussions about weight with locals revolve around fish and fishing gear.

Anyway I was discussing the various ramifications of material selection and building technique as related to what the thing was going to weigh.

Susie was on the couch crocheting and said “I know exactly what it’s going to weigh”. Oh really, says I. Yes she replied, It’s going to weigh “a little more than you’d like” all your boats weigh a little more than you’d like.

I was stunned. Susie is always right; we’ve been married for a long time. But I hadn’t realized her knowledge extended so far into to my passion for boatbuilding. But she was totally right. All my boats and related things through the years have weighed “a little more than I’d like” without exception. There’s no good way to recreate how many times I’ve uttered the phrase but it’s been said enough times that the phrase roils off my tongue with practiced ease.

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