The Party's Over

1st sail in 16 years

Adagio is back in the yard after a short, six week season and I cannot be more pleased with the way she handled.

During her short season, she was a busy girl:  She had her first sail in 16 years, she was on display at the Antique Boat Festival in Salem, she rafted alongside Motif 1 in Rockport and took on 30 knot winds burying her bowsprit a number of times.

Motif 1 - Rockport

In all that,  the only major problem I had was that the shells of some of the blocks started to part under load. That's it. And that isn't terribly surprising given that the polyester epoxy that held them together was at least 16 years old. She didn't sail to windward as well as she should, but that was expected as it was clear during the mast stepping that the length of both headstays need adjustments - adjustments she'll get next year.

Anyway, she has been the Belle of the Ball for sure and gotten her picture taken repeatedly. During the Salem show some of her most ardent admirers were judges who themselves were wooden boat surveyors.

But that chapter in her rehab is behind us and a new one begins. This winter will focus on her interior which I did not touch during this rehab thus far. To be fair, it isn't in bad shape, but it is in need of refurbishing. New paint, new varnish, some minor carpentry and much updating.

The holding tank is cracked and the head should be rebuilt (gaskets and whatnot). The electrical panel doesn't stay securely fastened, the face panel to drawers don't stay on, and the water tanks have not been tested. On deck, I need to make some adjustments to the rig, as well as the main hatch and the skylight. Also, the anchor does not cat on the bowsprit properly.














So, all pretty typical stuff and it is fair to say that she will splash much earlier next year and put some miles beneath her keel before year end.

Adagio Has a Wet Bottom

AUGUST 2, 2016

ADAGIO LAUNCHED

Well, after a 2 1/2 year rehab, we did it. Adagio is back in the water.  As I have noted on these pages she was put on the hard somewhere around 2000, so she has been dry for over 15 years.

On the truck

A small group of close friends helped us celebrate the day which came with a dry, slightly overcast skies and a 10.5 foot tide.

Champagne Jam

My wife Jan launched the ship by doing the ceremonial honors (which is her prerogative of  course).

On our way

The boatyard is a tidal estuary. At low water, there is none. So, when you draw five feet, you want all the water you can get. Tuesday came courtesy of a 10+ foot tide and was perfect.

Resting comfortably dockside

I stayed on board Tuesday night tied to the dock where I had shore power and a sump pump that can move a tennis ball through 30' of garden hose if I needed it. But I didn't.  By midnight, she had stopped visibly leaking.

At launch, the pump cycled every 2 minutes for about 20 seconds. As I write this two days later, the pump is now cycling every 20-25 minutes for about 5 seconds. So don't let anyone tell you that cedar doesn't swell.

Prettiest Girl at the Dance

There are still a gajillion things to do and adjustments to make, but that will always be the case. 

For right now, I am just enjoying the moment. 

The Launch of Adagio

The day has arrived. 

Adagio  will launch August 2nd at 10:30 a.m. at Greens Point Boatyard Ipswich MA. 

Join us if you can. 

While this is not the end of this rehab, it is a significant milestone for me and for her. She will get wet for the first time in 16 years and she now has a new lease on life.  I have learned a great deal and can honestly write that I know this boat in a way that few boat owners know their craft.

To This 

From This . . . 

All that aside, she is an exquisite version of the Dictator class of Friendship Sloops and needed a second chance at life. She is now, once again, the Prettiest Girl at the Dance.

There is still much to do down below, touch ups here and there and fittings that aren't quite right, but that is always the case. For now, she will back in her element.

If you can't join us for the launch (it is a weekday), she will be at the Antique & Classic Boat Festival in Salem MA on August 20-21. It is held every year at Hawthorne Cove Marina (next to the House of the Seven Gables) and is always a good take.  While going there just to see Adagio is reason enough in my book, there are a lot of really great classic boats there and I'm sure you'll find it well worth your entertainment dollar. Plus, you can vote for your favorite craft (not suggestin', just sayin').

Motivation

"It's a Labor of Love"

I have heard this cliche repeatedly as I grind away on this rehab and I have come to loathe it. Like most cliches, however, it is half right.  The rehab of Adagio is labor.

An Equally Old Story

However, what I am doing is not unique. In fact, it's an old story: Boy finds boat. Boy falls in love with boat. Boy restores and relaunches boat. It is a story told every month in Wooden Boat magazine and in countless other boatyards country wide.

However, an equally old story is the one about the rehab or rebuild that began with gusto only to wither and die a slow, debilitating death.

But, many come by and ask how I keep on doing it (and follow with "It must be a Labor of Love")

What Motivates People? 

We all know that, early on, the mind supplies the vision of the finished project and that vision fuels the work. However, in time, the weight of the project slowly crushes the vision.

So, what motivates those who finish from those who don't?  Much is written on this topic and I'm not going to rehash it here, but I have always believed that a critical element of Motivation is Purpose. Whatever the goal, it must be part of an overarching Purpose that is Personally Meaningful and Clearly Stated.  The Purpose must convince you that your world will be a better place with your project complete than incomplete.

Without a clear, meaningful Purpose, you (or your organization) will fall short of your goal. If you look beneath the surface of any significant achievement, you will find this clarity of Purpose. And, by the way, if the Purpose of your project is not meaningful and clear, why are you doing it?

As a Recovering Corporate Drone, I sat through endless presentations of SMART goals (all goals should Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic and Timebound). While there is some truth to the SMART goal format, it is secondary to Purpose.  If there is no clear, meaningful Purpose, your goals can be as SMART as Einstein and still fail.

Fig A. Really?

My Purpose 

If I wrote that my Purpose is to give my life over to the restoration of wooden boats, that would be as lofty as it is wrong. There are some wooden craft (and a lot of plastic craft - anything made by Bayliner for example) that I have no interest in seeing on the water (See Figure A and its ilk).





My Purpose in this rehab is simple: To get this particular boat back on the water. Moreover, not only can I see her on the water, I can see the symmetry in her rigging, her angle of heel in a fresh breeze, the sturdy look of her bronze - I can even smell the fresh paint.  That's what I mean by "clarity".

It is meaningful to me because I have always loved classic, gaff rigged working sailboats, their rugged craftsmanship and the traditions they represent. While it is an important part of our heritage, to me, it seems real and pure (that does sound lofty, but it's true).

what Might Have Been

In my mind, this particular Friendship was simply too pretty to become a planter. The arc of her sheer and the quality of her construction required salvation and a trustee. Someone had to take her off the beach, so I did.




The Spirit is Willing, but the Flesh is Weak

But . . . .

There are times when the clarity of Purpose is not enough. Sometimes, you need more. Some people tell friends their goals so they can be cheered on and shamed into doing it. Some have notes tacked up in strategic positions which goad them into action and some have playlists that pump them up and refresh the dream.

I have three pictures, one in my head and two on the boat. The one in my head is a picture taken from amidships of  Desiree looking forward on a port tack. For reasons I cannot explain, this picture reminds me why I'm doing this. Maybe the warm beauty of the wooden spars against the full sails, maybe the bowsprit pointing the way or maybe it's just a well-framed shot. I don't know. It simply represents what will be.

 The other two pictures are signs. One says "It's not Furniture; it's a Boat!"  This is the boatyard equivalent of  Voltaire's "Perfect is the Enemy of the Good."  Since perfection is as elusive as unicorns and fairy gold, chasing it will keep the boat out of the water forever. This thought runs through my mind repeatedly and keeps me from becoming obsessive about a particular task.





The other sign?: "It's not going to do itself."  This is self-explanatory, but I can tell you that it pushes me to do something every day howsoever little.

So, set all the SMART goals you want, but if you want to finish, have a Purpose. Oh, and someone to kick you in the slats - even if it is just a sign.



FOOTNOTES

1. For an excellent treatment on Motivation see Dan Pink's Drive.  In it, he posits that people are motivated when they have Autonomy (Self Direction), Mastery (something they want to get better at) and Purpose (see above).

MILESTONES

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 15 YEARS

SHE IS ALL ONE COLOR!!

It is only the first coat, but we're getting there . . . 

Boatyard Labor - A Bargain at Twice the Price

While attending the birthday celebration of a friend recently, another friend commented negatively on my lack of posts on this blog. I won't reveal his name as that would be indiscreet (Larry Ogden), but he's right.  However, just because there have been no posts, does not mean there has been no activity.

So, for the three of you (and Larry) that follow the travails of the good ship Adagio, here's the latest.

COCKPIT TRIM AND TOE RAILS

Cheerless as an Empty Hearth

Adagio's toe rails are each about 40' long and the cockpit trim is about 25'. Both the rails and the cockpit trim are one piece of laminated teak and bent to fit.

The rails and cockpit trim are all teak and, originally, they were finished bright. However, 15 years of exposure made them look about as cheerless as an empty hearth.

So, it was time to remove them, strip them down, recondition them and reinstall them. Simple (one would think). And "one" would be right. It is a fairly straightforward process.

However, what struck this "one," was how much time the whole process took and it gave me a very clear understanding of why boatyard bills can make the national debt look like a dawdle. For the uninitiated (Larry), the process is:

• Drill out the bungs  (150 + bungs here) 
• Back out the fasteners  (1:1 ratio of fasteners to bungs)
• Remove the rail to a workbench or work area - (in this case lower the 40 foot piece to the ground and thread around the jackstands and out from under the tent)
• Remove any old varnish with a heat gun
• Sand with an orbital sander 
• Hand sand to remove sander marks and assure you got all the old weathered and varnish off any non-flat surface. 
• In this case, thread the 40 foot piece around the jackstands and back up underneath the tent. 
• Dry fit it to the rail to make sure
• Lay a bead of caulking along the rail.
• Fit the trim
• Fasten it to the rail
• Insert bungs
• Cut bungs even with rail (a sharp chisel's preferred, but some people just sand 'em down)
• Lightly sand rail to assure that bungs are level with the rail and the teak color is as uniform as you can get it. 
• Remove all sawdust with a vacuum.
• Tape all area you do not want varnish or paint on.
• Remove any remaining sawdust with a tack rag. 
• Add finish of your choice (paint or varnish).

Old wood.  Bare wood

Port side Toerail looking aft

What is interesting about this process is how long it takes. Just the process of taking this trim off and getting back to bare wood was probably 15 hours (they are long pieces, after all, and were in poor condition aesthetically).

Once you're back to bare wood and you have fitted the trim back on, you still need to caulk it in place, fasten it, and bung it and do all the other prep work to get it ready to paint or varnish.

Moreover, even giving it a covering will add a couple of days to the job. Any paint - and certainly varnish  - should be given some time to set up before you prep and paint a second (or third) coat. The trim on Adagio is being finished bright - but not with varnish. To keep consistent with the other deck trim I am using Cetol Natural Teak. I have had good luck with this product - it holds up well and is easy to maintain. After 3 coats, I top it with a gloss coat (optional) and it is as close to varnish as never mind.

Port side all bunged up!

However, the real point is, this project has given me a profound understanding of why boatyard bills are what they are. Had I given this to the yard to do, I might have been indignant by an exorbitant bill for what is, conceptually, an uncomplicated job. Strip It. Sand It. Paint It. How hard is that? A chimpanzee can probably do it.

However,  all told, this chimp is probably into about 30 hours on this trim.

So, when next you get your boatyard bill and see "Reconditioning Brightwork  15 hours @ $75 / hour," just shut up and pay it. It is a bargain at twice the price. 

On a Barge in France

What do you do when your retirement dream is to sail around the world and your spouse's ideal is have an apartment in London or Europe?

The obvious answer, of course, is to buy a 1926 steel Dutch canal barge and ply the canals of France.

Hoop Doet Leven

Hoop Doet Leven, which means "Hope Sustains Life," has been the summer home of Harvey Schwartz and Sandra Hamilton for the last four years.

Harvey is a retired civil rights attorney from Boston, a wooden boat guy and shares my penchant for all watercraft. He has cruised the New England coast for years and, a few years ago sailed a catamaran to the Bahamas. However, he has given up his caulking hammer for an angle grinder and now calls this 70' barge home.

His wife, Sandra, has immersed herself in the French language and culture and serves as bow crew and primary interpreter.

The great part about their retirement for us is we can share their experiences vicariously through Harvey's blog (https://onabargeinfrance.com/).  However, he has taken the best experiences and put them in a book entitled (oddly enough)  "On a Barge in France."  You can buy it on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/barge-France-Harvey-Schwartz-ebook/dp/B01AV0OYKK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456278119&sr=1-1&keywords=on+a+barge+in+france)  and I really think you should.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that Harvey is a friend, but that is not the only reason I recommend this read. Harvey has an engaging style of writing that combines the history of the places they visit with a fair dollop of experiencing a different culture and way of life. There is much to take from Harvey and Sandra's adventures.

The nub of it is that, usually, our vacations are of the 1-2 week variety and, while you may have a great time, you can never say you really got to know  the people or the land or why they are who they are. Harvey and Sandra are doing just that - and that makes all the difference.

This is a great read whether you are a boater, a traveler - or even an armchair adventurer.

To Hull with It

One of the jobs this summer was to seal the hull below the waterline. As I have mentioned before on these pages, Adagio (ex DESIREE) was on the hard for about 15 years. There were areas such as the rudder and keel that you could see straight through to the other side.

Looking through the Rudder

Hacksaw blade through Stem

Now, any wooden boat out of water for a long time will dry out. And there are infinitely worse cases than I have here. In fact, I have been repeatedly amazed that she is still extremely fair given her time out of the water. However, I want the seams to be as good as they can be because when she hits the water, I expect her to drink in the water like a desert bloom.

Cracked, Brittle and Old Compound

Earlier inspections concluded that she was not in need of refastening or recaulking, but it was clear that the old seam compound had become hard,
brittle and loose. My concern was that, as she swelled, this old, rock-hard compound would prevent the natural swelling of the cedar planks. So, we endeavored to take out as much of the old compound as we could and replace it with new, malleable seam compound. Not a hard job, but laborious, to be sure.



Once and awhile, men such as myself are blessed. On this particular occasion, however, the blessing came - as it often does - in the form of my wife, who, actually enjoys sitting under the boat and reefing out all this old compound.  Now to be clear, she also enjoys peeling sunburnt skin off of others, so maybe this isn't so surprising, but imagine . . . a wife who enjoyed such a task. Whatever conclusions you draw from this are your own business, but to cynics such as myself it may go a long way in explaining whatever she saw in me.

Tiger Sloop

So, out with the old and in with the new. We reefed out the old compound and primed the seams with red lead primer.


After that, I added in new compound. The plan was to use Interlux's brown seam compound made specifically for below the waterline for the seams between the cedar planking. I chose it based on online reviews and my own good fortune with Interlux's palette of paints. For the oak keel I decided to use "Wet Patch," a roofing tar.

Initially, the seam compound went on OK, but it seemed hard to work with to get into the seams effectively. I solved this by using a mixture of the Interlux seam compound and the Wet Patch. Not only did the Wet Patch make the seam compound much easier to work with, but it extended the life of a can of otherwise expensive seam compound (and Wet Patch is the much less expensive product!)

When I was trying to decide on the best way to do this, I asked around to respected boatbuilders here. I also researched the online forums for wooden boat construction. What I found was that ten people will give you twelve different answers. And then it hit me. People of all abilities have been building wooden boats for centuries. There is no, one "right way" (although there are some materials that are universally panned. e.g "Life Caulk" below the waterline).  The point is, you can't go too wrong. If you don't like it, change it next year. The key is to get something in there that will allow the wood to expand as it swells while filling in all the small gaps so that the cotton caulking won't work too hard.

messy seams

The traditional way to get the compound in the seams is with a putty knife, cleaning the excess up right away with an Acetone soaked rag.  If you omit this second step, you will be re-sanding these

Red Lead primer

seams to remove the hardened excess and that's just more work than you need. I point this out only because I forgot that step even though I knew better. Not to worry, though. It will be smoothed out and painted over and underwater, so no one sees it or will know about it (except the four people who read this blog).


Red Lead primer over all and she's ready for a coat of bottom paint next Spring.


Boats are never "done," and I will be working on this one for a long time. But it is with great satisfaction that I write that the "to do" list is now shorter than the "done" list and I have every expectation of having her in the water next summer.

Name Boards, Trailboards & Just Plain Boreds (with Winter)

The last two winters in New England have been beautes! Total snowfall this winter was over 9 feet which set new records around here - five and half feet of it fell in February alone. The good news at the boatyard was that the snowdrifts were so high, no boat was in danger of tipping over in the hellacious wind.  At worst, they might heel a bit, but nothing more.

Well, with winters like that, it's good to have lot's to do in the shop. This was a winter of organizing and doing a lot of little things. Two of those things were, carving a name board and reconditioning the trailboards.

Goofing off at the Drafting Table

Carving a Name Board

I took this project on because I wanted to learn to how to do it. To those who have done this, or who do it for a living, what I am about to reveal is not new. For the rest of you, it is Gold: Make sure your tools are honed to a razor's edge. Or, as we say in the New England woods, "make shuwa yah chisels are wickahd shahp. My lesson learned here is that if they are not, it will show up in your work directly.

So I learned how to sharpen chisels (and planes, scissors etc.)  - a useful skill and one I will use repeatedly. There are several very good resources on the web for those interested in learning more about this, so I won't go into it in detail here (although I provide some links below). I will only say that if you want a good job (and why do it otherwise), the tools must be sharp.

A PRACTICE PIECE

Planning the Name

At any rate, since I didn't know what I was doing, I decided to savage a piece of pine rather than mahogany first time out. From Home Depot then, I got a four foot plank of white pine and started to outline the edges of the board and consider the letter spacing.

Beveled Edges

The goal here was to focus on the technique of carving the letters and I resolved to keep things pretty simple (no fancy carved scallop shells or mermaids - I will save that for the mahogany).  The letters were printed from "Word" and then transferred to poster board to make a template.

Next, using a small hand-held router, I gave the edges a simple bevel.

The Name Starts to Appear

This is where the pine board is savagely attacked by what I thought were sharp chisels. It was here I learned that "sharp" has to mean "really, really sharp - no kidding."  But that is why it is a practice piece.

Oh, one other piece of breaking news: you can't carve through a field of knots on a pine plank and expect it to come out looking good. Your chisels can be sharp enough to split light and it won't be enough.  Academically, I knew at least that much, but it was interesting to see it in action.

There are also a number of videos on carving letters. Again, the techniques vary and you just have to find the one (or ones) that fit your style, but they are instructive to be sure. Once the letters were cut out, I thought, well, what if I just painted this up (it's knotty pine after all)? My original idea for the final product was varnished mahogany with gold lettering, but since this was knotty pine, that wouldn't do.

So, what would it look like with the traditional gold on black?  Even if it never sees the ocean, it might look good hanging in the shop. This, by the way, is how projects take on wings and a mind of their own.

Stong shory lort, after a couple of coats of primer I painted it black and trimmed the edges and letters in gold.  The sheen comes from the two coats of varnish I applied over the whole thing when dry. I have to say, I was pleased with the result - it certainly passes the 10 foot rule - and given the size of the punch list still to go, it is quite possible that this savaged piece of Home Deport pine will adorn her stern for this season anyway.

Trailboards

Adagio's trailboards were much like the rest of her. Fundamentally sound, but in need of some repair and reconditioning.

The port trailboard had a piece missing from the trim - no doubt from an anchor fluke that got away while hauling and took a divot out of the trim.

So, I shaped a small scarf out of some scrap lumber and fitted it into place. Three clamps, glue and 24 hours later, it is fit to start shaping to the curve of the trailboard. It took awhile to get the taper right, but it was either that or shovel snow, so time was of no consequence.

On the left, the scarf is fitted and tapered.

On the right, the finished job (what appears to be a white smudge at the left end of the board is really a reflection from the light). Interlux Sea Green with white trim and gold vine design. Very slick.

WHEN YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE . . .

When my children were young, they enjoyed a book called "If you give a mouse a cookie." The story went on to describe all the things that will happen after the mouse gets his cookie (he'll want milk, a place to nap, a game to play after his nap and so on). It describes the interconnectedness of things.

And so it is with boats.  In order to do these projects, I needed to re-condition my chisels. This required a shelf for my bench grinder and storage for the various whetstones. To build the shelf required paneling the wall and running wiring to the socket and then, once the chisels were sharp, I needed a chisel rack to keep them handy (BTW, that chisel rack is Sitka Spruce left over from the mast work).

So, the moral to this story is, don't eat the cookies . . . and keep your chisels sharp.

References
1. Paul Sellers has a series of very good videos on a variety of chisel and plane related projects and techniques. In this one he takes some fairly inexpensive chisels and makes them worthy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki8tt-VjwqI 
2. M. Scott Morton of Highland Woodworking uses a slightly different method than Sellers, but does a good job showing the flat of the chisel:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CADqyYA_e-U
3. Harry Bryan is an old Maine boatbuilder and does a series of very good videos for OffCenter Harbor. This site requires a subscription (which anyone interested in classic craft should get) so it might not be available.  http://www.offcenterharbor.com/videos/sharpening-plane-blades-part-1-harry-bryan/
4. Carving Letters: http://www.offcenterharbor.com/videos/wood-carving-part-2-carving-letters/

Origins of the Compass Rose

The compass rose has appeared on charts and maps since the 1300's when the portolan charts first made their appearance. The term "rose" comes from the figure's compass points resembling the petals of the well-known flower.

Originally, this device was used to indicate the directions of the winds (and it was then known as a wind rose), but the 32 points of the compass rose come from the directions of the eight major winds, the eight half-winds and the sixteen quarter-winds.

In the Middle Ages, the names of the winds were commonly known throughout the Mediterranean countries as tramontana (N), greco (NE), levante (E), siroco (SE), ostro (S), libeccio (SW), ponente (W) and maestro (NW). On portolan charts you can see the initials of these winds labeled around the edge as T, G, L, S, O, L, P, and M.

The 32 points are therefore simple bisections of the directions of the four winds (but the Chinese divided the compass into 12 major directions based on the signs of the Zodiac). For western apprentice seamen, one of the first things they had to know were the names of the points. Naming them all off perfectly was known as "boxing the compass."

There is no absolute standard for drafting a compass rose, and each school of cartographers seems to have developed their own. In the earliest charts, north is indicated by a spearhead above the letter T (for tramontana). This symbol evolved into a fleur-de-lys around the time of Columbus, and was first seen on Portuguese maps. Also in the 14th century, the L (for levante) on the east side of the rose was replaced with a cross, indicating the direction to Paradise (long thought to be in the east), or at least to where Christ was born (in the Levant).

The colors on the figure are supposedly the result of the need for graphic clarity rather than a mere cartographical whim. On a rolling ship at night by the light of a flickering lamp, these figures had to be clearly visible. Therefore the eight principle points of the compass are usually shown on the compass rose in black which stands out easily. Against this background, the points representing the half-winds are typically colored in blue or green and since the quarter-wind points are the smallest, they are usually colored red.

© Bill Thoen, 2013 (all rights reserved)
Reprinted with permission

---

References:

Cartographical Innovations:  an International Handbook of Mapping Terms to 1900

ed. by Helen M. Wallis and Arthur H. Robinson. - Tring, Herts: Map Collector Publications in association with International Cartographic Association, 1987. - ISBN 0-906430-04-6. (This was really quite good, and full of interesting history and details about maps - Bill)

Mapping

by David Greenhood. - The University of Chicago Press, 1964. ISBN 0-226-30696-8

ADAGIO

Princess, by Joe Richards

As some may have noticed, I have changed Desiree's name to Adagio.

Adagio is Italian and is most often seen as a musical dynamic instructing the musician to play "slowly, at ease."

At 17,000 pounds, I am under no illusions that Adagio is a fast sailor, but the iconic image of Joe Richards's Princess has always conveyed the feeling of pleasant ease, the "simply messing about in boats" of which Ratty was so fond.

"Adagio" is also used in ballet and refers to "slow and refined movements as a single phrase, in a fluid manner - each step linking seamlessly to the next."  In fact, the Adagio is often the opening section of the Grand pas de deux where the ballerina performs slow movements with her partner. And so, it fits what I hope is to be.

This image reminds me of years ago when I owned the catboat, Janou - my first gaff-rigged boat. An old gaffer told me then, "sail her slack. You can't crank her in tight like you do those Marconi rigs." Instinctively, I knew just what he meant. It had that feel of Adagio to me - . sailing her "slack" on a warm summer day with a lazy breeze on the quarter . . . .

Now, I've sailed enough to know that very few days of our preciously short summers are the lazy, at ease days I describe. My experience is that you're either becalmed or in a tempest that will blow your ears clear overboard. And any gaffer that gets caught with 550 square feet of mainsail flying when the wind pipes up is likely to be singing Santa Merda! (Allegro).

But still, sometimes the name is not the reality, it is the ideal.  And so it is with Adagio.

Simply Messing About in Boats

Varnish Varnish Varnish

Bacon and Eggs, Shoes and Socks, Sick and Tired, Wooden Boats and Varnish.  Much maligned for maintenance, but always appreciated - on someone else's boat.

Our obsession with varnish is simple: It looks so good.  Never mind it is impractical; never mind that it is fragile; never mind it doesn't protect the wood as well as paint and completely ignore the fact it requires slavish attention to maintenance. The fact is, it is beautiful. Period. Full Stop.

I admit it. I like it. For me, the look is worthy of the time to maintain. Adagio's builder thought so too as he gave her a generous share of it - above and below deck. Teak rail caps, cabin top handles, hatches, blocks, drawers, sampson post, doors and trim and all the spars are finished bright.

DECK TEAK

Main Hatch with Cetol Nat'l Teak

However, I'm not completely insane - at least not in this regard (I did, after all, buy a wooden boat). I have found that Cetol makes an excellent two-part product, "Cetol Natural Teak" that looks  almost as good as varnish (so close that most people can't tell the difference) and stands up to the elements far better than varnish. After three coats of the product you can top it off with a Cetol Natural Teak Gloss, if you are looking for the gloss of varnish. This top coat will give you additional (and stronger) UV protection than most varnishes and you do not have to sand in

Skylight Hatch

between coats making the overall job quicker.  Last, I have found it to be more forgiving than varnish - keeping you from being "chained to the oars" of your varnish. A maintenance coat of the gloss once a year (or even once every two) keeps it looking good.

Down below, Adagio  will get real varnish as it is away from the elements - or at least it better be.


SPARS

For the spars, I am trying something new (at least to me). Originally, these spars were finished bright with varnish. That's just not going to happen on my watch. However, I like the idea of a clear finish as it makes it easier to see what's going on with the wood.

A boatwright at the yard suggested LeTonkinois (pronounced La'tonk'in'wah). It is an organic "varnish" made from tung oil and linseed oil and God only knows what else, but it goes on like oil and will build up to a varnish-like finish. Best of all, it is not brittle like varnish, it moves with the wood and touch ups do not require building up the touched up section - it will blend in with the rest of the spar. There is no sanding between coats and it is unaffected by humidity.  Again, once you've laid down six coats, a maintenance coat once a year should be all that's needed.

Old dirty varnish on Boom and Gaff

3 Coats of LeTonkinois

The literature on this product also notes that it is not slippery when wet.

 

So, I have my own test lab going on here:For reasons I'll not bore you with, the bowsprit and the staysail club are varnished (Epiphanes); the mast, gaff, boom and sampson post are finished with LeTonkinois and the deck teak is done in Cetol Natural Teak.



We will see how each of these perform over time and report back, but for now they are ready for the elements.

Sources:
Trevethen, Jim, Wooden Boat Renovation, International Marine, Camden ME,1993