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Want to make a change? Use Slow, Steady Pressure
When I was in my twenties, I spent several years working and living on sailboats. Even though I didn’t make a lot of money, the lessons I learned and experiences I had have proven to be valuable time after time in the decade or so since I moved ashore.
When I worked on these boats, one of the tasks that was often assigned to me was to fit a fender in between a boat and a dock. A fender is a large, heavy duty pill-shaped rubber balloon that prevents friction and rubbing just like a pair of socks in between your foot and your hiking boot prevents blisters. Using fenders can prevent damage to both a dock and a boat and is a simple way to avoid costly repairs.
When I was first asked to do this, it seemed like an impossible task. Imagine the scene: the broad side of a hundred ton schooner pressing squarely against the pressure treated planks of the dock and held in place by the formidable forces of wind, tide and current. It seemed laughable that I, an average-sized, average strength woman, would be able to separate the two and insert the fender.
“Push,” the captain instructed.
Trying to be a good sport, I planted my feed on the dock and spread my palms wide on the hull of the boat. I started pushing and just as I expected, nothing happened. I grunted and strained to show that I was making…
