Bowsprit again

Catch up time! So the bowsprit needed all new wood and hardware on the deck but the underneath was equally as bad. Above are the new metal plates ordered to replace the rusted out one. If all was perfect we could afford stainless steel but we don't have that sort of money, if anyone would like feel free to donate!, so we opted for a middle of the road steel. Since we know it will rust out eventually I tried to make the new plate as easy as possible to replace. The old one was so wedged in to tight spots and tabbed with fiberglass that it was not not somthing I wish to remove again. Since I had no welder onboard I went with a column as the vertical reinforcement and tapped holes in either end to blot it all together. After breaking three taps it did happen!

Sanding for Gold

Over the past month we have had many different projects going on from the rebuilding the bowsprit to cleaning the bilge to preparing the engine compartment for our soon to be here new engine (yay!). However I have to say, one of the simplest and possibly most rewarding so far is bearing witness to the beautiful dark golden hue of the freshly sanded and oiled teak emerge from the weathered and far too long neglected grey that had resided on her deck for far too long -- Ok ok, perhaps seeing the old 500+ lb engine emerge from the companion way leaving the boat structure completely unscathed takes first place, but I'm talking aesthetics here for the time being :)