Spit, polish, fresh paint and new canvas for our spry 63-year-old

WeLike shows off her new canvas camper top, fresh paint and polish at the Hunter Bay public dock on Lopez Island.

ALL DRESSED UP, with someplace to go.

That’s the case with WeLike, our 1957 Skagit Express Cruiser, the little 20-foot runabout built (and restored) in LaConner, just 16 miles from our island home.

As promised, here are photos of the boat with her new canvas camper top, designed and created by Jim Smith of Harbor Canvas Designs in Coupeville. Jim gets 5 stars for quality work delivered as promised.

As soon as we got the boat back from Whidbey Island, we took her out of the water at Center Island and I spent 10 days painting and polishing, so she looks better than ever.  Considering that WeLike is just a year younger than I am, I know she needs regular TLC.

Now it’s time to play. Barbara and I hope to get up to Sucia Island, one of our favorite places in the San Juan Islands — and on Earth, for that matter — in a week or so for a couple nights of boat camping. The boat has a cozy cuddy cabin complete with memory-foam mattress, his-and-her reading lights, classic built-in wooden lockers, electric fan and a neatly hidden Porta-Potty. The cabin features a fold-out cooking counter, galley storage, a portable butane stove and a stainless-steel sink with pressurized water.

To our boater friends, may the wind be always at your back — and at WeLike’s, too, while I’m thinking about it.