Motor is ON me BOAT!

My beautiful motor is mounted. This is thanks entirely to Larry, the only one who showed up to help, out of all those who made promising noises. What a clever, clever man he is. I just did what I was told, mentally soaking up the experience of watching him solve the dozens of logistical problems that each stage of the process brought with it. I learned a lot. For me, the crowning moment was when this lanky guy with not a spare ounce on him levered the 125# motor off the cart, onto a plank at the edge of the dock, and gently planted it on the mounting bracket -- bang in the middle on the first try. No scratches, no injuries, no drama, nothing bent or broken. It was beautiful.

Now I have to hook it up. The battery cables are a foot long, but the battery is 14 feet away, so new cables are on the way. The rest of the wiring harness is a complete mystery to me, except for the piece with the ignition key in it, so I've ordered the manufacturer’s shop manual ($75, thank you very much!) for that exact model, and that should arrive next week.

So all I have to do between now and then is recaulk the toe rails, do first aid on the winches, fix the starboard navigation light, check the rigging and anchor rode, organize my crap into what gets stowed and what goes with me, write up the maintenance schedule, catch up on my bills, and finish getting some sort of protection on the hull -- now that I've figured out what will work. (And THAT was no small task, let me tell you.)