Slowly pecking away

Things hardly slowed down as I would have wished. With the loss of a sister-in-law in April, my mother-in-law in June and then my own mother just this past September, getting back to work on the boat has been difficult. I think it's good therapy but sometimes it seems unimportant in comparison.

I finally began working a bit last week on the woodwork I brought home. Since I have Silas here all day my work time is very limited. We head to the shop for short stints but no longer than an hour or so at once. He loves playing with my old hand tools and digging through the wood pile. I savor every minute I'm with him. He's such a sweet little boy.

I finally decided to paint the insides of all the cockpit lockers. I have a difficult time painting over anything but pine. After a lot of contemplation I concluded that it would be for the best. Varnished mahogany is beautiful but when you have your head stuck in a storage locker and still can't see a thing your looking for in broad daylight,  reflection is a real plus! Besides, you can't see the paint till you lift the lid.

(For some reason I haven't been able to insert any pictures. Until I figure out why you'll just have to be content with my words. Sorry)

Am hoping to get her in the water sometime next summer. This will be a major undertaking as I will have to attempt to launch her from the trailer. There are no hoists available for nearly 40 miles in any direction. Only problem is needing to leave her in the ramp on her trailer long enough for her to float. I would most likely need to stay there over night to accomplish this. (not sure how popular that will be with the D.N.R or local fishermen)  I also need to fabricate a tounge extension so my truck doesn't end up in the water with her.

I'll continue to try and figure out why my photos won't upload but till then, I'll be signing off…

Going to try to get my stuff about the Folkboat restoration on here now that things have settled down a little. Stuff worked out this summer so that I could rescue her from being lost for back storage fees. Since the adoption started for Silas all our money went that way for a while. Our grandson was more important than the boat. But now that it's over and all is well with him I was fortunately able to spend a couple weeks doing some much needed work to her deck, cockpit, hull and mast. In fact I was able to varnish and re-rig the mast totally.

A good friend from a few years ago offered me a great storage place in his yard with a shop! Thank God for good friends! Now "Catherine" will be safe and sound. Hope to hit the wooden boat show there next June.

Did some refastening at the floor timbers, added some new plugs in some old screw holes where they were leaking and did a lot of cleaning inside and out.
Did a major repair to the forward deadwood at the mast step. She was leaking bad there the first year I owned her. Looked like an old poorly done repair had come loose. Drew her back together from the inside and tightened up the keel bolts a little. Don't think they'd been touched for many years.
Installed her new rebuilt slider hatch, reset the mast step, replaced her stop waters, and removed some of her cockpit woodwork for refinishing next year.

When you do the right thing.

My beautiful 1959 mahogany on oak Folkboat sat on her cradle all last summer and will most likely do the same this one as well. I bought her for near nothing to restore and sail on the Great Lakes. I figured that since all the kids were gone, my summers would be lonely. I would get her finished in a few years and have her in the summer wooden boat shows.
But another surprise was waiting just around the corner that I couldn't have planned for. A wonderful surprise that was going to take up all the time I thought I was going to have. For a wonderful little grandson was coming. But he would need special care and a lot of it. And I would become his primary caregiver.
Though I do miss my boat, I know this is the right thing to do and I am completely thrilled with the opportunity to be able to do it. I know that my boat will be left for spare time now, my little grandson needs me and I love him so! Maybe someday we'll work on it together, who knows what the future will bring.