Spring has finally arrived! On Friday, Bellingham was decidedly miserable and winter-like, but over the weekend something changed. There's a few tulips sprouting up around town, the buds on trees and bushes look ready to burst, and thousands of small black flies have sprung out of nowhere. Even the air seems to have changed; the sharp and smokey odor of winter has been replaced by a sweet smell of growing plants, soggy grass, and mud. Unfortunately the weather, although it's warmed to a somewhat warm-ish 50 degrees, is still just as dark and rainy as it was last week.
The boat project continues slowly but steadily. Randy, the shipwright, has built most of the framing for the portuguese bridge, and the starboard section has been CPES'd in preparation for it's plywood skin. The port corner of the foredeck has been rather brutally disassembled with a sawzall and hammer, and the rotten port sheer plank has been removed. We exposed a rot pocket on the back of the pilothouse, and the texture of the wood was incredible. It had probably been rotting for a decade or two, and multiple sloppy repairs had only served to trap water inside, so one of the main structural beams had been reduced to little more than dirt. I could literally just scoop out squishy clumps of wood with my bare hands. Luckily, the rot didn't extend too far into the deck or cabin side.
On a more positive note, I was able to remove Misogi's old name very easily. It was firmly stuck onto the transom in huge black vinyl letters, but they peeled off like a banana skin when I used a heat gun and sharp chisel. Misogi looks kind of naked without a name, so hopefully we can put her new one on soon.
 |
| The Leaves are Back! |
 |
| Very Squishy Wood |
 |
| Corner of Deck |
 |
| Rotten Sheer Plank Removed |
 |
| Peeling Off the Old Name |
 |
| Nameless! |
