Every now and then an old friend come back into your life. These days, it is usually a friend request on FaceBook that results in a couple of messages getting passed back and forth with content like “remember when” or “do you know what happened to….” or “I miss our…” Only to fade away when you realize that you really didn’t have anything to talk about in the first place.
And, sometimes this “old friend” is from an intense, short-term relationship that turned out to be a defining moment in your life. Something that led to other challenges, experiences, and relationships. For me, this took the form of a 15′ driftboat that I built from plans over the winter of 2003-2004. This boat was my first full dive into woodworking. It has since taken me down the path of two more boats, some furniture, three surfboards, an electric guitar, and a slew of other small project over the past eight years.
I only had that boat for less than one year, selling it to pay for my second boat, Woody Bugger. A couple of weeks ago I got phone call from guy that I sold it to. He and his sons have used it hard for the past seven years, but did not take the time to keep up with the maintenance. Like any relationship, wood boats need a certain amount of attention to maintain their beauty and integrity. Any exposed wood should be oiled regularly. Bright work needs a quick sand and a couple of coats of varnish every year or two. And any structural issues should be addressed early so that they don’t turn into bigger issues. All this is a small price to pay for the pleasure of spending your time in a work of art.
A week ago, the owner dropped the boat by for a little bit of love. Here’s a short list of the tasks:
- The rear seat was broken due to lack of oil and a plus-sized fishing buddy. This needs to be completely rebuilt. It will receive new seating rope.
- The front seat needs a new swivel base, a few structural upgrades, and a lot of oil.
- The rower’s seat is in good shape and just needs new rope and a lot of oil.
- Some trim pieces have come loose and need to be re-secured.
- The floor-mounted pulley for the anchor system needs to be re-secured.
- All brightwork needs a few coats of new varnish. Some places where the varnish has cracked and failed need to be sanded down to bare wood, re-sealed with epoxy, and then receive about six coats of varnish.
