Skip and Lydia got beat up pretty bad and I hope it doesnt ruin their
dream.
However, the few people I know (3) who did this sorta thing, spending
years building a boat, defferred sailing until she was finished, etc.
sailed a short way and ended their dream.
How does this happen? I call it the "Cruising World" syndrome. The
magazines dont give a real pic of what it is like. Most of the
problems are not physical but mental. Days at 4 knots and soon you
are so bored you are talking to jellyfish. Then suddenly you are so
scared you become a jibbering idiot. Then you anchor and you and your
spouse drive each other nuts being so close. Mowing that lawn at your
old place ashore starts to look real good.

How to keep it from happening? Dont defer sailing while you build.
Keep your small boat and sail and cruise regularly. I think Skip and
Lydia ought to have stuck to their original plan of daylight sailing
only EVEN IF IT MEANT GOING DOWN THE ICW DITCH. This would have
exposed many flaws in the plan until they could jump on the outside to
Naples and then Everglades City. From there it is a daylight trip to
Marathon. By the time they really needed to sail at night they'd be
good.

I know another couple who just bought a big boat to fix up, by
coincidence, a Morgan. They talk of selling their old 25' boat but I
hope they dont until the big boat is really ready.