Lumber is dry

 05 Jul 25:

We had busted trees sawmilled a year plus ago, now we have some dry lumber ready to be made into somethin...silver maple and red oak. Paddles maybe?

Skipper's Hammock

01 Jul 25:

New spot for Skipper's command post. She's special, she gets spreader bars for her hammock. 

Bahamas Dinghy Rudder and Tiller Strip

21 Jun 25:

We removed old paint and varnish? from the Bahamas Dinghy tiller and rudder using our 20V DeWALT random orbital sander. 80 grit discs got the job done, although the varnish acted more like a thick coat of epoxy, so we are not exactly sure what we were dealing with.

The tiller looks like ash wood but it is a little harder, so we need to research. It might also be white oak. 

A Kobalt diamond tile file and a Shinto rasp fit between the tiller straps to remove old coatings.

The rudder had a coat of flaky white paint...

...over a coat of very thick and very hard varnish, the Old School kind of varnish. But below the different coatings was some beautiful marine grade mahogany plywood. Sanding dust collection courtesy of the ShopVac and Dust Deputy Cyclonic Seaparator.

Log of HENNING:

Summer Sailstice 2025

 20 Jun 25:

Summer Sailstice 2025 is in the books. We put the word out to our friends in the Warraskoyack Chapter of the Traditional Small Craft Association and had a good turnout for a mess about. Skipper was off the beach first in her 1965 Sunfish WAVE.

Then I had a turn.

Meanwhile the beach was filling up with two Melonseeds and a Phantom. Note Skipper becalmed in the distance.

What little wind we had got shifty near the shoreline.

Team meeting under the umbrella...

We love how the flagstaff is also the pin that holds the tiller in place.

A CLC Lighthouse Tender Peapod stopped by on its way to Annapolis, for a Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse birthday party on Saturday.

Fun day for a mess about!

Bahamas Dinghy Floorboard THIXO Repair and Kirby Paint

 08 Jun 25:

Bahamas Dinghy Floorboard Repair with TotalBoat THIXO thickened epoxy Pro system and George Kirby Jr. Co Paint. Custom color for the day is Skipper Bahamas Blue, applied with a 2 inch Lowes sash brush for oil based paints.

Small Boat Festival Port Ludlow 2026

 09 Jun 25:

We are not sure how it slipped by our calendar, but the 2nd Annual Small Boat Festival happened May 31 at Port Ludlow, Washington. Here's a description of the event from Marty Loken for Small Craft Advisor Magazine, a digital imprint.

"The event is organized by the Pacific Northwest Pocket Yachters (www.pocketyachters.com), and primary sponsors are Gig Harbor Boat Works, Duckworks Boat Builders Supply, Small Craft Advisor magazine, and Glen-L Marine Designs. Co-sponsors are the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, the Northwest Maritime Center, the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Dinghy Cruising Association, the Center for Wooden Boats, and the Gig Harbor BoatShop."

(Image Credit: Small Craft Advisor)

We'll add it to the Calendar to watch out for the 3rd Annual in 2026.

Calendar of Events

 08 Jun 25:

Check out upcoming events on our Calendar

http://smallboatrestoration.blogspot.com/p/calendar-of-events.html

And if you have an event, please post the info in the comments and we'll add it to the Calendar.

Have a great Summer!

Clark and Skipper

Clamps + Storage

08 Jun 25:

Found a spot to store clamps.

Only 29 Jorgensen clamps there, we probably should go for 3 dozen...

Random Wanderings through the Boat Shop

 08 Jun 25:

Here are some photos from the carriage house aka work-boat-shop-shed...

I had a Teams meeting today, and the Portugal attendee got a private tour of the shop.

Enough work, back to play.

I bought a vintage WIlcox Crittenden Inc folding seat a few years ago, because I liked it. The seat reminds me of the jumpseat in an airliner, some weren't much bigger than this. Will we ever have a boat to put it in? In the meantime, I decided to install it on the workbench as a spare Moaning Chair.

We had no real goal in mind other than to open up the Boat Works and Heuer Garage on a nice day, and ended up getting a few things organized in preparation for painting the dinghy.

Log of the Carriage House(s).

Summer Sailstice Friday June 20 2025 with the TSCA Warraskoyack Chapter

 07 Jun 25:

Ahoy Mateys

Skipper and I will be messing about for the Summer Sailstice, June 20th, on Burwell's Bay off of Tyler's Beach, with our Sunfish and a kayak.

15077 Tylers Beach Rd, Smithfield, VA 23430

Editor's Note: NOT a sailboat, but if the wind catches the double paddle just right, we'll allow it...

There is a medium soft sand beach, we use a dolly. And there is a protected inlet with concrete ramp and high docks, sometimes a few deadrise workboats out there. There is a fair amount of brick and cinder block debris in the water, so bring water shoes. Porta potty and a decent amount of parking. Overnight docks can be arranged with the Isle of Wight County Parks and Recreation Department (757) 357-6703.

We usually sail 0900-1100ish, depending on air temperature. the time slides with the temp, hotter = earlier.

The Ghost Fleet is to the left off the beach, a restricted area that is patrolled. Off to the right are the screwpile legs that are remnants of the Point of Shoals lighthouse, so some folks may want to circumnavigate Point of Shoals. An osprey has a nest on marker 5. 

Quiz: Why is it named Point of Shoals?

Thar be a wee pirate to protect us, she promises to parlay with the Dutch who have a history of kicking British booty on the James...

The tide will be going out in the morning, turning slack around 1200. Maybe GODSPEED or DISCOVERY want to visit the Southside? Be careful though, thar be pirates...

Cheers,

Kent and Skipper (Audrey)

Swash Hole

03 Jun 25:

I don't know what a swash hole is, but it has islands... 

Smithfield Waterfront Early 1900s

 31 May 25:

Our downtown waterfront, in the days before cars and Amazon delivery...

Commerce Street

Check out the schooner loaded with peanuts...

...And a shout out to the hard working people that made it happen.

Grumman Canoe Mast Step Made From Unobtanium

27 May 25:

We are getting ready to ship out a spare mast step for a Grumman 17 canoe. It appears that it will also fit a Grumman 15. These mast steps are evidently made from Unobtanium, Raresight or Costalotum. 

There is one ebay seller who makes aftermarket parts, but here are the measurements should you have a metalsmith buddy who is bored, and you need to get a sail rig on that canoe.

The base of the mast is just under 1 1/4 inches square, and nestles right into the step, which is about an inch deep (+) to the bottom of the canoe.

There is a small metal mounting plate that is riveted onto the inside centerline of the canoe, the plate sticks up just enough to get 4 machine screws through and into 4 tiny nuts. If you do use the step, we'd recommend moving it regularly, like every month or so, for cleaning and coat with a corrosion inhibitor/non seize compound. 

Maybe this will motivate us to try out the lateen or gunter rig on SCOUT, we bought them a while back but have not used them yet.

Log of SCOUT.

Bahamas Dinghy Mast Thwart and Floorboards Paint

 26 May 25:

Today was a beautiful day for final sanding on the mast thwart and floorboards, we used 80 grit discs on a DeWALT random orbital sander. 80 grit may sound aggressive, but this Bahamas wood it hard and doesn't seem to mind. Plus we want to leave a little texture to act as non skid.

The wooden cleats on the underside of the aft floorboards were loose, so we took them off, put thickened epoxy in the screw holes, applied paint to the faying surfaces, screwed them back together and clamped the pieces together until the epoxy cures. 

While that repair dried, we sanded primer on the mast thwart and removed old paint from the middle floorboard.

Aft floorboard with a coat of George Kirby oil based paint, tinted to Skipper Bahamas Blue

Log of HENNING.

Bahamas DInghy Roll and Tip Kirby Paint

25 May 25:

Rolled and tipped Kirpy Paint custom color "Skipper Bahamas Blue." Applied over one coat of Kirby primer and one coat of Maynard Bray Off White. The roller kit came from https://www.facebook.com/KirbyPaintCompany and we used a Lowes 2 inch, short handle sash brush designed for oil based paints. We have 2 nice Corona brushes from Kirby but they are hiding somewhere.

Log of HENNING.