Progress. Finally!!

I vividly remember sitting on Kayleen's deck last summer, ranting and raving at the tops of our lungs about a pine needle buried, Pacific Northwest moss covered, forest entombed boat. In fact, I can still hear the faint echo of Kayleen sealing the boat partnership deal with, "we will look like Poulsbo Hollywood out there in the middle of Liberty Bay!" Perhaps it was sun stroke setting in, or just the adrenaline high of surviving a walk through stinging nettle laden woods in shorts, that really solidified that this project contained all of the elements for the perfect adventure. Earlier this week my suspicions were affirmed as the aromatic waft of resin filled the air - to put it lightly, we have rounded the corner.

Kayleen using her cast as scale for the world's largest resin run :)

As with any project (let alone a boat restoration), set backs are bound to happen. Be it due to the weather, a busy schedule, or because of a boat partner who has needed back-to-back hand surgeries over the course of the last few months. In her defense, her injuries were preexisting to the start of our boat project, however I'm nearly convinced that she is either a.) Under the impression that multiple surgeries accrue flyer miles or b.) That she gained more enjoyment out of watching me struggle with the task of sanding the bottom until it was "smooth and pretty", than anything else. In all, the bottom of the boat took roughly 10-15 hours to sand, with 5 of those hours spent in debate over Kayleen's intentions for the bottom to be completely smooth (thus the pretty factor), and my desire to see how far I could throw the sander into the woods.

L-R: Lisa, Eric, Emily, & Kayleen

To rabbit trail for a moment, last night Kayleen and I had the privilege to show off our restoration work thus far to Eric Brooks, the Skipper Craft's second owner of 25 years, and more famously, the man who let us drive away with the boat for a mere $100. His reaction was anything but stoic. "I kept this boat around for 25 years with the intentions to do what you girls have done in only a few months. This is incredible!" We went on to explain the progress we've made, what we still need to do, and how oddly enough, the moment that we pulled out the rotted transom, the entire garage was engulfed by horrendously strong gasoline fumes - Eric's eyes sparkled and a grin found his face as he said, "it would have made an awesome bonfire!"


So, what to watch out for: fiberglass! The center, where the boat is joined together has been fiberglassed, and within the next couple of days the remaining real estate will be covered as well. Once this step is complete and the resin cured, we will then be able to paint the bottom, enlist the help of our strongest friends, and flip the barge back over! For those of you who need a reference point, we are nearing the 70% completion mark. Cast and all, we are more excited than ever to watch our progress morph 57 year old plywood into a master piece!