As one who spent a career doing physical labor, I feel your pain -- and the occasional need to push the envelope in defying gravity just to get the job done. I've always associated boatyards with the scent of sawdust, paint, and the salty tang of ocean air, but I guess the toxic reek of resin has now joined the club. This is truly a labor of love ... which are the hardest, yet most rewarding of all.
I wonder how many folk might leave a layer with just clear resin to show the renovation history of the vessel. You know the way they do it with historic buildings, a section behind perspex and perfectly preserved?
What an interesting thought, Prue. I did it on the interior of the bow with a little plaque to commemorate the project, leaving the wood behind it unpainted. And I could not bear to paint the interior purpleheart white so it is varnished, too. With the fiberglass, it's all below waterline so I think that would get a veto from my Sailor.As another reader commented, I'm sure it is cemented in my memory, and on my hard drive. Thanks, as always, for weighing in. ~J
Grinning ear to ear at your visual images and ability to write so creatively about yourself and this incredibly massive damn project. You've given me a goal of living long enough (I've probably got only ten more years) to see (through your eyes and camera) the launch!! (smiley face)
You've got me grinning, too, Alfred, if it takes more than ten years my creative self will be a puddle. We launch in 2026, promise! And I love that you're aboard cheering me on. The scope of it is hard to imagine even when I'm standing beneath her, some days..... ~J
A ton of glass and resin -- that's amazing, though kind of a drop in the bucket of what Steadfast already weighs. What color will she be below the waterline? I can't remember what she was before all this began.
Sometimes, when I hear a song I like, I'll go looking for a video, and sometimes that video will forever change the way I hear the song. I have the idea that seeing the soundness of Steadfast's hull, the beauty of her naked bottom and transom, will stay with you regardless of your inability to see then again. You will have seen enough to know.
Ah, Elizabeth, always shedding a new glimmer-- love it. I'm sure these moments are imbedded in my memory. Her bottom color in Trinidad Green, which is almost the color of well-tarnished copper. It does seem like a long time ago that we sanded that off...oh, right...it was a long time ago...
There is this song we've all heard, from a while ago and one of the lyrics was 'the Dolphins make me cry' and then I saw the video and he meant the damn football team! I was so disgusted that I never can hear that song without remembering it. So crazy what fills up our minds. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Happy to have you aboard!--~J
Do you subscribe to LOOSE CANNON? He republished the story yesterday about Herman the homing pigeon that got me onto Substack.
So many secrets beneath the surface of things, aren't there? We've been so busy covering all this up I've had to miss my me-and-the-wonderful-ladies time! Hope you had a great holiday. ~J
Perhaps laminated pastry will still delite you. Maybe next winter you can experiment while afloat in someplace warm and gorgeous! Thanks for the read on this crisp and breezy afternoon.
This is interesting. Is there a short-term/long-term trade-off here? A treatment that will look after the wood for the foreseeable future, but might be impossible to maintain? Are we looking at the last hurrah for Steadfast, or a way to preserve it through multiple future owners? It's your boat and no critique either way; the structure itself can take a pounding and have limited life, and from what I hear there's no love for veteran boats among insurers. I'm just wondering whether you're conserving or sustaining and how you worked out the trade-offs.
YES! Absolutely trade-offs involved with all the decisions we made during this repair/rebuild/refit, most of which are definitely long term. Although we are unexpectedly spending retirement funds (we can always make more money) saving our piece of history which is also our home was a series of easy and difficult choices, if I can say it that way. Originally the estimate of time was four months to do some bow repair. That was in July of 2024. One thing led to another and another and...well, here we are with another six months to go with the long-term goal of saving her into posterity for future owners. The wood on her bottom is 91 years old so the protection of just painting it didn't make sense, although the lamination in fiberglass is, as you will see even more in-depth, prohibitive in expense, time and hard labor.
We call them 'we might as wells' ---since we're hauled out here all set up, we might as well upgrade this, and we might as well complete that....so she's gotten a new lease on life, and so do we.
Wooden vessels are nearly impossible to insure in this day and age and frankly, hard to resell simply because of the maintenance, which this step reduces immensely. We carry liability and, with my six-guest Captain's license, hopefully some charter guests in the future so more folks can understand why we made the hard choices that we did to save our little piece of maritime history. I am honored by your interest. Thank you! ~J AND best of everything with your new 'Stack.
She really is a beauty. And even though you will never again see what you’re finishing up now, you know what’s gone into it and that you did it well. That itself can make for some sweet dreams . . . In time): Cheers!
Thanks Jeanine-- there's a lot of soul here, too! We did commit to not cutting any corners and that is a tremendous peace of mind to go along with my big dreams! Stay aboard my friend. ~J
As one who spent a career doing physical labor, I feel your pain -- and the occasional need to push the envelope in defying gravity just to get the job done. I've always associated boatyards with the scent of sawdust, paint, and the salty tang of ocean air, but I guess the toxic reek of resin has now joined the club. This is truly a labor of love ... which are the hardest, yet most rewarding of all.
I wonder how many folk might leave a layer with just clear resin to show the renovation history of the vessel. You know the way they do it with historic buildings, a section behind perspex and perfectly preserved?
What an interesting thought, Prue. I did it on the interior of the bow with a little plaque to commemorate the project, leaving the wood behind it unpainted. And I could not bear to paint the interior purpleheart white so it is varnished, too. With the fiberglass, it's all below waterline so I think that would get a veto from my Sailor.As another reader commented, I'm sure it is cemented in my memory, and on my hard drive. Thanks, as always, for weighing in. ~J
Grinning ear to ear at your visual images and ability to write so creatively about yourself and this incredibly massive damn project. You've given me a goal of living long enough (I've probably got only ten more years) to see (through your eyes and camera) the launch!! (smiley face)
You've got me grinning, too, Alfred, if it takes more than ten years my creative self will be a puddle. We launch in 2026, promise! And I love that you're aboard cheering me on. The scope of it is hard to imagine even when I'm standing beneath her, some days..... ~J
A ton of glass and resin -- that's amazing, though kind of a drop in the bucket of what Steadfast already weighs. What color will she be below the waterline? I can't remember what she was before all this began.
Sometimes, when I hear a song I like, I'll go looking for a video, and sometimes that video will forever change the way I hear the song. I have the idea that seeing the soundness of Steadfast's hull, the beauty of her naked bottom and transom, will stay with you regardless of your inability to see then again. You will have seen enough to know.
Ah, Elizabeth, always shedding a new glimmer-- love it. I'm sure these moments are imbedded in my memory. Her bottom color in Trinidad Green, which is almost the color of well-tarnished copper. It does seem like a long time ago that we sanded that off...oh, right...it was a long time ago...
There is this song we've all heard, from a while ago and one of the lyrics was 'the Dolphins make me cry' and then I saw the video and he meant the damn football team! I was so disgusted that I never can hear that song without remembering it. So crazy what fills up our minds. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Happy to have you aboard!--~J
Do you subscribe to LOOSE CANNON? He republished the story yesterday about Herman the homing pigeon that got me onto Substack.
https://loosecannon.substack.com/p/worlds-worst-homing-pigeon-flies-18e
Loved reading another version of the Herman story!
Beautiful!
So many secrets beneath the surface of things, aren't there? We've been so busy covering all this up I've had to miss my me-and-the-wonderful-ladies time! Hope you had a great holiday. ~J
Perhaps laminated pastry will still delite you. Maybe next winter you can experiment while afloat in someplace warm and gorgeous! Thanks for the read on this crisp and breezy afternoon.
With a filling of dark chocolate, perhaps?? Will do, Keith. Thanks for the inspiration....~J
This is interesting. Is there a short-term/long-term trade-off here? A treatment that will look after the wood for the foreseeable future, but might be impossible to maintain? Are we looking at the last hurrah for Steadfast, or a way to preserve it through multiple future owners? It's your boat and no critique either way; the structure itself can take a pounding and have limited life, and from what I hear there's no love for veteran boats among insurers. I'm just wondering whether you're conserving or sustaining and how you worked out the trade-offs.
Hello Ruv,
YES! Absolutely trade-offs involved with all the decisions we made during this repair/rebuild/refit, most of which are definitely long term. Although we are unexpectedly spending retirement funds (we can always make more money) saving our piece of history which is also our home was a series of easy and difficult choices, if I can say it that way. Originally the estimate of time was four months to do some bow repair. That was in July of 2024. One thing led to another and another and...well, here we are with another six months to go with the long-term goal of saving her into posterity for future owners. The wood on her bottom is 91 years old so the protection of just painting it didn't make sense, although the lamination in fiberglass is, as you will see even more in-depth, prohibitive in expense, time and hard labor.
We call them 'we might as wells' ---since we're hauled out here all set up, we might as well upgrade this, and we might as well complete that....so she's gotten a new lease on life, and so do we.
Wooden vessels are nearly impossible to insure in this day and age and frankly, hard to resell simply because of the maintenance, which this step reduces immensely. We carry liability and, with my six-guest Captain's license, hopefully some charter guests in the future so more folks can understand why we made the hard choices that we did to save our little piece of maritime history. I am honored by your interest. Thank you! ~J AND best of everything with your new 'Stack.
She really is a beauty. And even though you will never again see what you’re finishing up now, you know what’s gone into it and that you did it well. That itself can make for some sweet dreams . . . In time): Cheers!
Thanks Jeanine-- there's a lot of soul here, too! We did commit to not cutting any corners and that is a tremendous peace of mind to go along with my big dreams! Stay aboard my friend. ~J
Sterns are a point of interest to many people. They might even be called followers!🫢
Lots of folks are running their hands along my bottom, I know that much Switter!! ~J
Be careful. Be very careful.
Always!