Project Log: Monday,
October 5, 2009
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One might ask what magical
occurrence came about that led to the sudden beginning of
this project, after so long a delay. Well, it's a
long-ish story, details of which are not particularly
germane nor interesting to the dear reader.
The short
version is that we decided not to proceed with another
project that had been waiting even longer, and which I
intended to complete first: a 1960 Lyman 23 runabout.
After dragging my feet for years, and coming to the
unpleasant realization during that time that the boat was in
far worse structural condition than I'd ever dreamed or
hoped, I sought professional help (no, for the boat) to get
a better idea of the repair procedure required for the
myriad hull issues. I even briefly let myself believe
that perhaps I could afford to hire this individual to do
the hull work for me, which would be a load off my mind and
would free me up to do just the work I really wanted to do
on this particular boat--cosmetics and installations.
Suffice it to say that the process would have been
far more drawn out and labor-intensive than I was interested
in--not to mention shockingly (yet understandably) costly
were I to hire the work out--and after various consultations
I decided to sell the boat. Fortunately, she sold
almost immediately (mainly because of her almost-new
trailer), and shortly she was gone--and with her went a
significant weight from my shoulders. Her departure
also opened up my schedule for the winter--my off-work
schedule, that is--and, having completed a fair work list on
our current boat,
Glissando, last winter, my side of the shop was free
for a new project.
This was exciting, and though I'd
vacillated a bit over the years as to when--or whether or
not--to begin the Seabreeze project, with a generally free
winter weekend schedule ahead, work proceeding smoothly, and
other factors, it seemed that the forces of nature had
aligned properly and clearly pointed to the need (and
desire) to begin this project.
Additionally, back in
August 2009 I'd gone sailing with a friend aboard his
Seabreeze sloop, and the experience rekindled my desire for
all the design had to offer. Another friend sent me a
photo of a beautiful Seabreeze yawl he'd seen on Cape Cod,
which gave me a bit of additional inspiration.
So,
despite the numerous obstacles ahead (a derelict, burned
boat in utterly dismal condition; the amount of time the
project would take; the amount of money the project would
almost assuredly cost; etc.), I could hardly wait to begin.
A note on the name, or lack thereof: as of this
writing, my wife and I were debating a pair of possible
names for the boat. While we'd initially chosen the
name Pixie shortly after purchasing the boat, in the
intervening years I'd come to consider a certain name with
special meaning in my family, but we'd yet to make a final
decision. So for the time being, I'd have to refer to
the boat in an unpleasantly impersonal way: Seabreeze
#16, the Seabreeze, or, in the specific context of this
website, "the boat".
With a semi-free
afternoon on my hands, I took the opportunity to uncover the
boat and move her into the shop, where she'd spend the
winter and beyond, depending on other demands on the shop
space. She looked about the same as when I covered
her--no better, no worse. |
 |
While the exact route the project would take would
only be determined as it happened, I figured the first
orders of business--and likely a winter's part-time work,
anyway--were to demolish the interior and rid it of all the
burned and smoke-damaged pieces and parts, and to remove the
remaining vestiges of fire damage from the interior and
exterior of the hull and, with luck, repair these and
adjacent areas. |
 |
On the brief trip to the shop, the boat passed
Glissando (now on the hard after the season), and I
couldn't help offering these comparisons of the current and
future boats. |
 |
Soon, she was in the shop
and ready for work to begin. |
 |
Total time today: 2 hours |
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