The Fog of reconstruction…

…Life gets in the way of blogging.

You know, as a member of this global community of hyper-opinionated end users I feel a certain responsibility to the art-form but lack of interaction ultimately has it’s effect on the priority of such discourse.

It’s a responsibility, yes, but not big on the “Go, No-Go” list.

Ok, so…

Dena’s been working on the little boat, S/V Tinker, and the bow roller project with the same amount of intensity given to both – switching back and forth from each just long enough to let the chemistry dry.

…On the bow.

…And, between glove changes, behind the camera.  Tinker’s fiberglassing had to happen on two separate days, but it makes for a good before/after photo.  Both sides are done now and the bow has been cleaned up and layered.  Some fiberglass cloth across the stern and a good coat of epoxy throughout the interior and we’re good to start putting it back together!

I did my share on my good-weather days off…

But once again, Dena gets to do most of the boat work and she does it well!

…For instance,

The above photo was shot over our last work week and because Dena has such a keen sense of project timing, the jobs that absolutely had to have two people on them, such as bolting through the deck,  happened when we were both available.

So, yesterday was one of those rare days when the weather was so perfect, all day, that it inspired us both to work straight through till sunset.

The new bow rollers are in place with through-bolts, starboard backing plates and lags and have no problem supporting my weight. The bollard is backed with stainless steel plate and bolted with 1/2 inch bolts.  If the true strength of a cleat is in the fasteners, this bollard will beat out any cleat I’ve seen on a boat this size.  Just behind the bollard is the deck pipe for the Bruce anchor’s rode and chain.

I feel as good about this project as I felt about all the other work we’ve done on this boat; it’s as over-built as the original vessel and I think the designer, Philip Rhodes, would approve.

So, the fog of reconstruction has ultimately hindered our blogging abilities.  So what? In the end, our lack of communication has accelerated the checks on our project list and really, the blog should be about the adventure, right?

One or two more preparatory blog posts and then it’s all travel and sailing for months!