The Davidson dinghy is looking beautiful! We’ve put on a coat of epoxy inside and out, to seal and preserve the wood hull. Now that we see the gorgeous wood grain, we’re loath to cover it up with paint! But we have to keep telling ourselves that paint is so much more durable and maintenance-free than 12 coats of varnish! The colour scheme is in progress, but the Dutch orange has been ruled out, to the disappointment of some, and the relief of others.
The inner keel got an infill piece over the patched hole, the hull was well-sanded inside and out, and finally, a couple of coats of epoxy.
Ragna’s mast is coming along well, with a great deal of sanding using a belt-sander strip, and a couple of handles. It actually made pretty quick work of it, and provided a great workout for the members who took part in that!
After it was rounded, the hole at the top for the halyard sheave was cut and shaped. The mast has been given a thinned coat of epoxy, and is now getting multiple coats of varnish. It won’t be long until Ragna is ready to sail again!
Enke got a name-board, just in time to serve as one of the clues in a scavenger hunt that Museum board member (and donator of Enke) Robert Allan was involved in. Thanks to Bruce for making that!
At the shed last Saturday, we had a quick lesson in whipping lines, to keep the ends of our dock lines neat and tidy.
One of our members sent a few more pics of the flotilla to the rowing races with flute accompaniment – thanks Bernard!
And finally, Button Swan got her bottom paint and is back in the water, and sailing wonderfully! Ready to dominate the Heritage Harbour Classic on September 21 – unless Enke has something to say about it – she’s a speedy boat too! Hope to see you there!
Edit: Oh, we also weighed the Button Swan last weekend – the hull alone weighs 310 lbs, with the rig (minus bowsprit, jib, and oars, which we forgot), it’s 430 lbs, and the bags of water ballast are 60 lbs, for a total of 490 lbs. At some point during the build we started a pool, guessing the final weight (fully rigged) – only Rob and Daniel committed to a number, Rob predicting 346 lbs, and Daniel going with 368 lbs. It was suggested that Rob now owes Daniel a bottle of scotch. 🙂
Oarlock and Sail Wooden Boat Club 