Phase 1 Complete

So, I'm approaching this project in several phases. I can summarize phase 1 in just a few words: Holy crap, I bought a boat. She is a Ranger Tugs 21EC. The 21 means that she is 21 feet long. The EC means Extended Cabin. The EC gives the tug a bit more room forward and provides a place for a small stove, an equally small sink, and a small refrigerator.
Phase 2 starts on Tuesday (11/8/16) and, yes, I already voted. I'll be headed for Pensacola, Florida. I plan on spending 2 weeks there and living aboard. There is not a whole lot of room on board, so I'll spend the time figuring out what things I'll need to bring on my cruise and where I'll stow it all.
Phase 3 should start after the new year. I'm going to be closing up my West Virginia cabin and heading back to Pensacola for about 2 months. During that time, I'll get the bottom painted and I hope to get an enclosure made for the cockpit.

Once phase 3 is complete, in early March, I hope. I'll sell my CR-V and cast off to attempt America's Great Loop. In short, I'll head to central Florida on the intra-coastal waterway. I'll cut across Florida on the Okeechobee Waterway. Then, I'll head up the east coast, through the Chesapeake Bay and out into the Atlantic. It's just a short cruise on the Atlantic to New York Harbor and into the Hudson River. I'll go up the Hudson to the Erie Canal and out into Lake Erie. From Erie, I'll go through Lake Huron and then onto Lake Michigan. I'll make my way to Chicago and join the Illinois River and the Tennessee River. Continuing south, I'll eventually get back to the Gulf and my point of departure.
With a little luck, it'll take me a year.