Brightwork - Beautification Project or Exercise in Futility

July is almost over, yet we are just getting to that brightwork which has been bouncing up and down our 'To Do' list since last fall. I'm the sander, sealer, primer, painter in the family. It's not that Dave can't do it, on the contrary; his talents and expertise are mechanical. His skills are not wasted on the aesthetic final touches of our projects. He is the designer, builder, remodeler and General Contractor in our partnership. He is the Captain and I am his First Mate!

One of the criteria we had set while looking for an ocean going sailboat was attractive lines. At 48 years old, Mystic is technically an antique. She is elegant with a graceful slender hull, low freeboard and long overhangs on each end. The transom is wineglass shaped with a gentle curve and the deck is surrounded with a teak toe rail and 12 inch cockpit coaming. Mystic is adorned with a four foot, white oak bowsprit which reaches out from the bow some two feet. It supports the windless, keeping it clear from the topsides. Both the main and v-berth hatches and the hand rails are teak. The coal heater Charlie Noble, (smokestack), is set on top of a teak base. The winches are also on teak bases. All that teak falls victim to the elements. All that teak needs to be nurtured back to a fabulous luster. Mystic's interior is filled with teak as well. Luckily the interior teak is oiled rather than varnished. Maintenance is just a fresh coat of oil. It is not so with the exterior trimmings.

Teak and Holly Floors

More than once we thought about looking for and purchasing a wooden boat; but the daunting reality of all that brightwork gave us cause to stop and reconsider. Mystic is a lovely combination of fiberglass hull and wood embellishments. Although she has more fiberglass than wood, she needs a lot of attention. We'd heard stories from our sailing friends about the hours spent sanding and varnishing teak. We were up for it, so long as we got the right boat. Mystic is definitely the right boat but we are beginning to wonder about being up for the never ending brightwork.

My first brightwork attempts were aimed at the main hatch, the hand rails and the Charlie Noble base. I hand sanded each piece but found that the old varnish had worn through in patches. I didn't like how this looked. I laid the first coat of varnish then cleaned up my supplies for the day. It seemed like I had accomplished very little. The next morning we woke to fog. Dave is always the first to rise. He starts his day by making a pot of coffee then he opens the hatch to greet the morning. This morning, he glances at my handiwork. Kindly, Dave waits until I have my first cup of coffee to tell me that my varnish has gone bad overnight. The clear finish is now as white as the thick fog which had settled in over Knife River during the night. It would all have to be sanded out and revarnished. I was not happy about that.

Main Hatch

Hand Rail - Before Brightwork

Hand Rail - After Varnish

V-berth hatch

Clearly I was in for a rough time with this brightwork. The reality of just how much teak I planned to hand sand became overwhelming for me. I needed an orbital palm sander, more tape, better paint brushes and lots of time! Dave took me to Duluth for supplies and I went back at it as soon as we returned to Knife River. I'm not sure if it was my attitude or the confidence that purchasing project supplies gave me, but things improved. I managed to get the main hatch, one hand rail and the Charlie Noble base sanded out and one coat of varnish applied before time ran out. These few areas looked GORGEOUS! I tried not to look at the yards of teak yet to be touched. Instead, I tried to focus on the results of my efforts and the euphoria I felt at bringing out the natural beauty of our sailboat. I know that one day I will lay the final layer of varnish over the last inch of teak. I will sit back to enjoy a job well done. There will probably be a bottle of wine and a fancy meal to celebrate. I expect we will be tired from a long day of hard work. We may go to bed early and we will need our rest. With brightwork, the end is really the beginning. The following day, one of us will notice that the main hatch, is beginning to look a bit worn.

Bowsprite

Looking through main hatch

Splashing Mystic...Year Two

The sound of gulls, clanking halyards and the engine of the Harbor Hoist boat lift fill the air. The marina is full of men dressed in layers of old woolen sweaters, many with holes worn at the elbow; but they stand at attention, coffee cup lifted to there lips, watching and waiting for their turn to splash their boat for the 2014 boating season on Lake Superior.

Knife Island ~ Lake Superior

We are at Knife River preparing Mystic for launching. The first thing I notice is the cawing of the gulls. Knife Island is a haven for gulls and pelicans during the warm months. It is barren over winter. Dave has set up a lawn chair for me to sit quietly, out of the way, as he sands, cleans and repaints Mystic's bottom. I'm still in the bright purple cast with a broken heel; waiting to be able to put weight on my foot. Until then, I'm relegated to taking a few photos of our day from my ground level viewpoint.

It's a nice day on Lake Superior with temps hovering around 60. The sun peaks out throughout the day but it is not hot. Dave hand sanded the red bottom paint then cleaned the dust from the hull. We were both surprised at how much paint dust fell from the light sanding. It would have to be cleaned up. As an afterthought, Dave wished he'd put a tarp down to collect the dust. Since he did not think of this beforehand, we used sponges and a bucket of very cold water. If you've never experienced cleaning a blacktop parking lot with a sponge, you are the lucky one. It was not an easy task but we were able to get the mess removed. 

We reserved a hotel in Two Harbors for the night. Dave picked a little mom and pop place called the Voyageur. This motel is the kind of place you don't "stay" at; you only sleep there. It's clean and comfortable but the rooms are small and have no frills. We are both tired so we are content with a warm room and a comfortable bed.

Before returning to the marina in the morning, we stopped at a cute little joint down on the lake called Louise's Place for a hearty breakfast. The restaurant is in the back of The Pub bar by the historic train depot in Two Harbors. Louise's Place is also a craft shop. There were a few small round tables situated within several open rooms. The restaurant is filled with handmade items for purchase like beaded jewelry and custom bags. Beautiful quilts hang from the walls and quilt racks. I sat at one of the round tables taking it all in as Dave ordered our North woods breakfast at the counter, two egg omelets with cranberry wild rice toast. The food is excellent! The place was filled with what looked to be locals. I'm sure it's really popular on the weekend. Everyone was friendly and chatted freely with each other and with us.

It's about eight miles from Two Harbors to Knife River. When we arrived at the marina, Dave got right to work preparing Mystic to be splashed. He suctioned the anti-freeze from the engine then filled it with clean water. Next he loaded supplies from the truck to the boat and finally, he polished the hull. I wasn't much help with these tasks since I couldn't maneuver a ladder or carry anything. My hands were occupied with crutches. My plan was to sit in the truck or the lawn chair and crochet while watching the happenings at the dock. Spending time at a marina is something I have always enjoyed. There is so much going on and so much to see. Today was no exception. From my vantage point I watched boats being launched all day. It appeared that the launching process was filled with glitches but the yard workers took everything in stride. There would be no launch for Mystic today. The marina manager put us on the launch list for Wednesday and we headed south to Stillwater.  Dave would return to Knife River mid week and facilitate the move from cradle to slip.

Dave left for Knife River at 5:00 am on May 28th in order to arrive at the same time as the yard workers. He got there at 7:30 and waited. It was a chilly 40 degree morning with a light breeze blowing. Everyone was wearing jackets and gloves. He talked to the yard workers and found that Mystic would be the first boat going in. The only things he had to do was put a fresh stainless cotter pin on the prop shaft nut and paint the holidays, which are the unpainted spots where the boat rested on the stands all winter. Mystic was sitting close to the launch so it only took about five minutes to pick her up and splash her into the slipway.  After a few cranks, the engine started and ran well. Dave let it idle for a good 15 minutes before he attempted to make his way to our new slip along the lakeside shoreline dock. The wind was coming off the lake which is the perfect direction for the move. He was able to gently ease into the slip all by himself. There were very few boats in the water, which helped. He tied Mystic to the dock, put out the fenders and set the spring line. The wind was picking up and was too strong to put the sails back on. He went through the boat and tightened every bolt and nut he could find. He was surprised at how many had loosened during our first year. Dave chatted with the guy a couple slips over who was planning to keep his boat in Bayfield for the summer but couldn't get there because the Apostle Islands were still iced up. We didn't know it at the time but it would be late June before the ice would leave the big lake!