The secret to rebuilding a wooden boat, we have found, is the to-do list. My commitment to the list began in 1998, when my husband, Jeffrey, and I first saw DAVID B. Her owner had picked us up at the ferry landing at Lopez Island, Washington, and with him we stepped onto DAVID B's sun-warmed, tar-coated deck. Young, ambitious, and low on cash, we were looking for an old boat that we could afford. DAVID B was tired and worn. Her black hull paint was dull and peeling, her pilothouse was painted a dingy white, with roofing tar splattered around its sill, and her window frames were weathered soft and gray. Only by letting your eyes go out of focus could you see that behind all that peeling paint lay a pretty boat.
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