There are many tasks on the boat that can be re-framed into arts and crafts. I love art nights and have been missing these night with my friends lately since we’ve been spending so much of our time working on the boat. I was reminded of this reading a post from a new virtual sailing friend, Leah over on their blog, With Brio. So as we do projects I’m re-imagining them as art.
Fiberglass work = paper mache.
You get dirt or debris in the mix and now it’s a mixed-media application! It’s a collage! Perfect. Re-tabbing bulkheads turn into a creative endeavour.
Just a lot more toxic and itchy.
My glueing skills are at an all-time high in accuracy. We’ve been re-glueing de-laminating floorboards and the salon table that broke. When we were living on Leela in October we spent a weekend sailing to Gambier Island with my family. On the way home there was some wind and bigger gusts through Howe Sound. I went below to tighten the portholes and was tossed into the salon table when we keeled over with a strong gust and tore the table from the floor. It was a bit much for my niece, who was 2 years old at the time and felt more dramatic than it was. The plywood had been damaged by a leak in the boat and didn’t have much strength left. So we’ve been fixing the consequences of leaks and have made a few more discoveries as to the source of the leaks! Satisfying, to say the least.
And fixing the leaks has been a paper mache rampage. Emmanuel sanded and ground 5 bulkheads and 1 stringer, which create structure for the boat, and I came behind to re-tab with fiberglass. A big job and only minor amounts of epoxy made it into my hair, so overall a win. It feels reassuring to see the progress we are making and to strengthen the boat in real ways.