Sometimes you open a hatch and find a whole civilization.

This week’s adventure started with one of those innocent “hey, let’s check that” moments. We opened the forward locker where we store life vests—and accidentally disturbed a long-standing treaty with several insect nations.

We didn’t set out to launch an eviction, but when the sawdust starts falling and the structural integrity looks questionable, it’s time to take action.

Removed, reinforced, repainted. The space is solid again. And yeah, it’s oddly satisfying seeing it all clean and ship shape, even if we felt a little bad displacing the previous occupants.

Sometimes boat maintenance is grease and chaos. Other times, it’s a slow archaeological dig into your own neglect.

Music: Smoky Wood & his Wood Chips Woodchip Blues (1937)