Hey Stranger!

“Labor Day! The Boat will be ready by Labor Day!” At least that is the rumor we’ve heard traveling around town – granted, it might just be side effects from this glorious PNW summer that we’ve been experiencing, but I’m feeling optimistic about that timeline too.

In our last update, we were hitting our heads against the garage wall over resin curing issues and sanding drama. Amazingly, we pushed through the long hours spent underneath dust clouds, and breathing through respirators like Darth Vader (however looking more like Gorst, WA residents). Someone once told me that regardless of how difficult something may seem at the time, as long as you keep inching your way forward, eventually you’ll look up to see that you've made it – I can definitely attest that the same is true for the Boat In the Woods.

So in an effort to keep this blog short and sweet, I’ll allow the pictures to do the talking!

Transom prior to fiberglass and the last progress picture that we left you with. 

After many trial and error attempts, we discovered that Kayleen had an undiscovered skill for flawlessly sanding awkward spaces (this explains a lot). 

Although difficult to tell, the entire boat has been fiberglassed and sanded. This picture was taken on the last day that our Skipper Craft would be known as the "Vomit Comet."

First coat of four (possibly five, counting is hard sometimes).

Perfecting our painting method took more patience than this picture is willing to give up (paint, wet sand, roll and tip, paint, sand, etc.). Here the final coat of Flag Ship Blue was applied, and the green tape outlines where the red molding line ends.

PAINTED!

This view just cracks us up - a now beautiful boat sitting on top of a dilapidated trailer.

Kayleen has insisted since the beginning that the transom be red - classy!

Although the restoration process has taken longer than we both anticipated, the rewards that we discover in each phase truly compensates for it. So there you have it! Next up our plan is to tackle the interior which includes: varnishing the mahogany, building a new deck, seats, slats for the floor, and windshield.