​All our workers bees were in the shop this week buzzing around the boats. We got a load of sweet honey-colored varnish to keep us busy all winter.
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Nicolas worked a lot on the Continental, installing hardware in the bilge and making holes for the exhaust in the deck. He also dry-fit the rudder and strut, so they’re ready for the process of alignment. He started the major sanding of the port-side of the boat to start smoothing down those rough new planks and remove the remaining varnish from the old planks. He also shaped the bull nose, which is a true work of craftsmanship. Shane continued the varnish process on the ceiling boards, and is up to the eighth coat. 

​On the Lyman, Nicolas has been doing some planking work the last two days, getting those scarfs ready.

​Mike Gregson is here today consulting on striping and lettering for the Celebrity. Gary and Shane gave it its final coat of white paint this week, so it’s ready for décor. 

​Shane continued work on the electronics panel for the Pelican, fitting it to the interior, setting up the prop shaft, and fabricating bushing. He sanded, prepped, and applied more varnish to the panel and completed the second coat of varnish to the trim. 

​On the Piglet, Shane prepped for a second coat of bottom paint and sanded and prepped the hull for paint, as well. 

​Jack finished shaping the pieces for the hatch and the windshield and he stained all of that this week along with the toe rails. Once that soaks in they’ll be ready to be sealed. 

​Gary has been out sick most of the week and wanted to note that he really appreciates his crew and how they keep up the good work in his absence without any prodding. We would like to note that we are grateful for his respect for us as crew members and as people, and feel lucky to work for someone so kind and generous. 

​The Celebrity is nearly ready to set sail! Nicolas spent the week installing the hardware, which includes cleaning and buffing each piece, dry fitting, bedding in caulk, and fastening with new screws. He also completed varnishing the deck and prepped the white paint for its final coat. He then treated the centerboard with anti-rust and epoxy.

​For the 26’ Sea Skiff, Jack continued building the hatch frame and began fitting the hatch lid and new hinge. He also kept working on fabricating the aluminum windshield molding trim. Shane cut joints at the forward end of the toe rails and adjusted them to fit light housing on deck. He then drilled screw holes in the toe rails, dry fit and made final touches to the bow joint. He drilled a hold for the light fixture in the light housing, and dry fit the housing. He then completed the shaping on the foot of the port side toe rail.

​Gary varnished the engine box and various other pieces for the 18’ Sea Skiff. He also helped everyone with their projects and restocked our cabinets to get us through the winter.

​On the Continental, Shane sanded and applied the 6th coat of varnish to the ceiling boards. 

​On the Piglet, Shane sanded and faired the epoxy along the keel and sides and applied more as necessary. He then washed the blush from the epoxy and sanded and applied more epoxy as needed. Today he painted the bottom a beautiful anti-fungal copper. 

Thanks for reading! Stay warm!

Jack continued work on the windshield trim for the 26’ Sea Skiff, custom bending the aircraft aluminum into the frame. He also finished shaping the gorgeous new hatch. Shane applied a second layer of top coat to the toe rails.

​Gary completed work on the Mast and installed the teak fitting. He also repaired a window for the 18’ Sea Skiff by replacing and custom carving a new side due to the amount of damage on that side.

​For the International-12, Nicolas has been working on planking port and starboard-side. This involves cutting, shaping, removing old nails and reworking boards for a tight, solid fit.

​For the Celebrity, Nicolas applied the last coat of varnish on the spars and installed the hardware on the boom and the gaff.

​On the Lyman, Nicolas continued planking work: milling plywood, removing old nails, and preparing to make scarfs. 

​For the Continental, Shane applied the fourth coat of varnish to the port side ceiling boards then sanded, prepped, and applied the fifth coat to both the port and starboard ceiling boards.

​Gary and the team rolled the Electric Double Ender to prep the bottom for repairs and refinishing. Then Shane sanded the boat to prep for varnish, removed the prop shafts and packing, then cleaned it.

​Shane did some touch up sanding on the interior of the Pelican and sanded and primed the deck. He then applied the first coat to the interior woodwork and gathered supplies for the electronics to determine the course of installation. He then designed and built an electronics panel and sanded/prepped/painted the first and second top coats of the deck in blue. 

Thanks for reading! 

Link made patterns for the deck edge for the Continental and then milled pieces of mahogany to put in their place. He rough cut the edges with his sword and did quite a bit of sanding and adjusting. Shane spent the week building up four coats of varnish on the ceiling boards with fine sanding in between each coat. 

​For the International-12, Nicolas installed the keel permanently, which has been clamped in place and will need to cure for a full week before we can begin installing the garboards.

​Nicolas reinstalled the hardware and riggings on the mast of the Celebrity and we are just waiting for a nice dry day to apply the final coat of varnish to the deck. 

​For the 26’ Sea Skiff, Jack made a new forward deck hatch and fit a repurposed door to the hull. He did final adjustments to fit the glass windows into the new windshield frame. He also began shaping the aircraft grade aluminum with heat to fit the frame and made a custom jig to drill the holes for attaching the metal strip to the frame. Shane sanded and applied two coats of primer to the spray rails, finished sanding and shaping the deck trim, and prepped the toe rails for steam-bending. He also built a custom jig for the toe rails so they will have the perfect shape. He also sanded the splash rails and applied the first coat of top coat.

​Jack installed the floorboards for the 18’ Sea Skiff and made a custom brass breaker panel/bracket for the engine electrical breakers. He also did some finish sanding on the windshields with extra fine sandpaper.

​The mast is nearly ready, just needs a few more coats of varnish and its hardware reinstalled. 

​Shane sanded the deck of the Pelican to prepare it for primer and applied is first coat. It is looking very smooth!