D-Day minus 7

Only 7 more days of work before we start the cleanup-closedown-protect operation on the boat.  It’s been sunny and warm all week without a drop of rain forecasted till Sunday.  It is a rare chance not to be missed in Quebec in September/October.  We finalized the wood frames, lots of sanding, wood-filling, resanding, taping but finally it is done:  2 coats of epoxy sealer on the back, 2 coats (out of 3) of varnish on the front.  It is incredible to think we were going to throw all that rotting pile of wood to the garbage and start anew!  Properly revarnished old wood is so rich.  You can see the age of the boat, the old darkened wood, the blackened wood, some new light colored wood that replaced old one, too rotten to keep.  We can see the patches, here because there used to be a windshield wiper, there because JF had to chisel it out last year.  Once well sanded and varnished, it says “boat that’s well loved” and it’s cheaper and faster than new frames!

On the program tomorrow: Last coat of varnish on the frames, finish up insulation around the hatch boxes, clean-up and installation of the hatches proper.  Busy day ahead of us.