Thursday 19 January 2023
Sadly today could be the wind up of the boat building project which has been a wonderful experience for me and, I hope, all those who have participated.
I arrived late after seeing the physio for some neck and back pains which have inevitably been exacerbated by leaning into the boat to paint. Adrian who was in the shed talking to Harry and JD, had his wrist in a splint but it didn’t stop him from taking on the job of sanding the jarrah rowlock pins so that they would fit in the tapered holes with the same amount sticking out of the top. He also shortened the bow position pin so that it didn’t dig into the plank below the gunwale.
Veronica arrived with Barney giving us a friendly hello before she had appeared at the shed door. She set to work finishing the paint job on the stern footrest.
I again gave the gunwales and thwarts a quick sand before starting on the 6th coat of varnish. It was hot, particularly in the sunshine beaming through the skylights. The varnish quickly became sticky making it a little frustrating.
There was just the rowlocks to sort out now. Paul W had cycled in and spent the morning cleaning the components of the rowlocks with water and detergent. The metal pins are now ready to glue into the jarrah wood tapered pins.
After morning tea where a light fruit cake helped sustain the crew, Veronica cleaned up the oars, removing old tape and stickers.
We’re lifting the boat onto its trailer tomorrow at 9am, see you there.
Cheers Dave