I figured out what was wrong! I mean, with the entire story structure. It should go a lot more smoothly now.
They say you don’t forget your first ship, and they’re right. The Paulie Girl wasn’t the biggest ship, or the newest; you could see from her hull and her deck that she was used to hard work and harder weather. Despite all that the crew could do — and didn’t we work her over, on the regular! — she was stubborn, and sometimes sulky. But her lines were clean, and she wore the rust lightly. She was a tough bitch, our Paulie. She’d take whatever you threw at her, and then spit it right back in your eye.
God, I loved her the moment I clapped eyes on her.
…
God, but this boat is a piece of shit, Ted thought.