a trip to the hardware store

Nor'easter conditions this morning, part of the storm that that covers much of the east coast and making life miserable for those who need to drive somewhere to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Wind and rain, with wind dying down this afternoon.  Rain again tomorrow, then clearing for the weekend (with a decent chance of sailing, depending on the temperature, on Monday!!).

I'll keep Spartina loaded with gear for about two more weeks, then strip everything off the boat and begin sanding the interior.  With that in mind I ran to the hardware store to pick up the respirator, several packs of sandpaper (220, 150 and 80 grit) and a new random orbit sander, a very low-end Ryobi marked down to $29 which should be good enough to do the job.

The idea of sanding and painting normally doesn't appeal to me, but then again I'm getting a little excited about doing the off-season maintenance.  While smaller projects are more difficult for me to do, I find I like the bigger efforts where I'm "all in," get the right gear, materials and have at it.