We are now drying out at Native Brightworks. It seems the screw holes for the stanchions were not bedded well. Water found its way in. The moisture content in the wood is too high to continue the varnish work. The Native Brightworks folks have placed lights over all the screw holes in the hopes the heat will expedite the drying process.
Courtesy Richard Ehlers, Native Brightworks
I am really good at creating more work and expense for myself and those around me. For a refresher, see this post. I was visiting the boat this Saturday and moving a box from the dock to the deck. In the process, I managed to bump the handrail that was next to the boat with its first coats of sealer on it. The bump knocked the railing over and broke the front section of the railing off. This is what it should look like.
Anyway … my little stunt set the process back a few days and added a bit extra to the final bill. That’s what happens when I get in a hurry. The folks at Native Brightworks should ban me from the premises for my own good.
Soooo …. Archimedes has been at Native Brightworks a month now. And I miss her. I miss being able to pop up for a visit and tinker whenever I feel like it or spend a weekend bobbing in the water. Sadly, I now have no excuses for putting off work around the house.
The sanding is done. Disassembly of the railings is complete. All the prep work is behind us. We are ready to move into the heated shed for varnish. Oh! And she has been in covered moorage for a month. A fringe benefit for February in Seattle.
The bad news after the break.
The handrails are off and tied up out of the way on the sides of the shed. Courtesy Richard Ehlers, Native Brightworks
The brightwork work (does that sound right?) at Native Brightworks continues. We are a bit over two weeks in to the process.
Much stripping and sanding has been done. Now it is time to start disassembling the railings. That is going to be quite a lot of work.
Courtesy Dick Ehlers – Native Brightworks
A bit more in the nip and tuck department.
It makes sense to try and get as much done as we can while the boat is under Native Brightworks nice big cover. The interior faces of the cabin doors have suffered from exposure to the elements, wear, and time. Might as well go ahead and have them repaired.
Mike Thomas from Thomas Marine Interiors is going to whisk them away to his shop, work his magic, and bring back something shiny and nice. You may remember Mike from the exciting episode titled Restoring Our Teak Decks. The age of Archimedes combined with all the wood on the boat means there are lots of opportunities for Mike.
She’s 35 years old this year. Like an aging movie star, it is time to take a short sabbatical for a little nip, tuck, and polish. For the next month or so, Archimedes has checked in to Native Brightworks on Lake Union for some desperately needed brightwork work.
As you can see from the following “before” photos, it is definitely time. This is what most of the cap rail looks like.
With the boat headed for a month or so of downtime, we though it best to hop over to Blake Island for the weekend. This being February, and with a bit of a chill in the air, other boats were scarce.
On the upside, no waiting at the locks. The sailboat ahead of us was kind enough to do the waiting for us.
