Wednesday 19 October

It was if the good fairies had been in the shed over night. There was a cryptic message penciled on baking paper, something about shackles.

Cryptic message.

Then I looked inside the front of boat 1 and found JD’s handiwork (J D from the Men’s Shed). He had been in the shed the day before and had talked about making a plate and adjusting a stainless steel saddle to fit the oddly bent tow eye U bolt.

There it was ready for a rope or a shackle.

Although JP made a brief appearance I was on my own today which was perfect for getting the last coat of varnish on. I sanded down the gunwales and thwarts and cox’s seats. It was hot work as the temperature climbed outside to 26 degrees. Inside it was hotter. I stopped for lunch at 12 before starting the varnishing. I only covered the visible areas eg the tops of the thwarts. It went well even though I had to have the doors shut to prevent the dust blowing around. It was hot work though.

Two coats on the thwarts.
And on the cox and bow seats.
A glistening rail and I touched up the paint work.

Caroline dropped in with half a lemon sponge from Gina for morning tea. Still plenty left for tomorrow.

Cheers Dave