Mast Must-Do List

A couple of years ago, I saw the first sign of varnish decay on Pax's mast - an amber bubble of moisture popping up like a blister - where halyards leading down from blocks high on the mast twanged the mast while PAX rested in her slip during the winter.  Ferocious winds during cold fronts routinely whip lines and strum them like a guitar. The tighter the line is cleated, the higher the note and the harsher the thud on the mast.  Over time, that drumming wears the varnish (and the line) so all but two lines are always pulled over and tied off inelegantly, but prudently, to turnbuckles.  This saves the line, saves the varnish and saves the sanity of adjacent moorage neighbors or crew hanging out below deck.

The main sail cover protected a four foot section of varnish, but above and below were signs of wear. Above, was mostly sun damage. Below were darkened patches where winch handles and other gear had nicked and damaged the varnish causing cracks. Cracks lead to water and water leads to rot, if left too long. 

Knowing this was a threat and hating the bruised apple look now evident at eye level from dock and cockpit, I spot sanded and varnished the exposed, raw wood patches between squalls.  One coat of varnish is no match for 7-10 coats built up on other parts of the mast, especially in the two rainiest winters ever recorded in the Northwest.  Thirsty as a sponge, the fir continued to absorb water through the thin coat. Not as much water as it would with no coats at all, but some water nonetheless.  Beneath the varnish, the dark patches slowly drew like spilled cola spreads in a paper towel. 

Away from the boat for almost 6 months, I returned to Port Townsend to find not only the bruise spots, but now the full length of the mast was starting to peel along the main sail track.  I realized the layers of varnish applied so perfectly almost 15 years ago were finally wearing out.  Could I go up the mast and revarnish or did the entire mast need to come down?  A few queries around the boatyard confirmed that no fool would climb the mast for the weeks of work it would take to strip, sand and revarnish the spar. The only fool who would consider it was me and without the comfy padded Brion Toss Bo'sun Chair I'd sold to pay bills after the circumnavigation, I knew it would be painful, virtually impossible and honestly, stupid.

Down came the main and jib. Off came the boom. 

The mast refinish project begins! 

Lost @ Long Beach: article for Wood Hull Yacht Club

Seeking Owners & Info about Danish Spidsgatter FIRECREST 1960-1974  (aka Pax since 1976)
by Kaci Cronkhite for Wood Hull Yacht Club newsletter, Los Angeles, California January/February 2012

How the heck this all started
I sailed around the world on a plastic double-ender, finishing that six year westabout circumnavigation in Port Townsend, Washington, August 2001. A month later, I hopped a ferry from Friday Harbor to attend the Wooden Boat Festival and the morning of my return trip, planes hit the World Trade Center towers.  The culture shock of returning to America from a world voyage was compounded that morning exponentially.  Staring at the television coverage, hugging strangers, talking to family daily for the first time in nearly a decade, life changed. Love of the ocean married my former love of wilderness and together, that ultimately led me to wooden boats.

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International search for Danish Spidsgatter history

Sitting in the opalescent light of a fall morning in France, I can't help but pause from my writing to watch the dew from the night shimmer one last time as the mid morning breeze shakes it from the waving grass blades. Since dawn, there've been a dozen emails to Denmark, two to the US and three back from DK confirming appointments as strangers become friends in my search for Pax' history. Today's email uncovered an elder boatbuilder from Samso who may remember the boat and a man north of Copenhagen who remembers her from his time on the junior sailing team at KDY (Royal Danish Yacht Club). He sailed with the two daughters of the first owner on record in Denmark, so far.

There are many changes to Pax since she was in Denmark.

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Luck and a promise for starboard bunk

This morning two busy women in the trades, one a shipwright with another boat on deadline and the other an expert on interior cushions with 4 other boats in line for Festival projects, are meeting me at Pax to decide if it's remotely feasible to finish the starboard bunk in time for festival. Boat projects, like house projects, are always a maze of details and design, deadlines and delays. Tear that out or leave that in to make the measurement so an order can be made? Experience makes a might difference and each project on the boat, like the Oklahoma house last year, got closer to reality, budget and otherwise. Thankfully, I've got no one depending on this outcome but me. There's enough complete already so to have a comfortable place for folks to sit for festival and a significant progress made on the interior that the answers this morning aren't under pressure. Sure, I'd love to get the mahogany on and varnished, the new ply seat with hatches complete and installed AND get the new 5" foam and cushions finished. But this timeline for all 3 of us is extremely tight. For it to all happen well, all 3 of us will have to be smart in detailing the steps, meet our part of the deadline, be lucky with other projects in our lives, basically be totally in-sync. Sometimes that happens. Touch wood!

Spidsgatter Pax: Best Haul Out Ever

When a travel lift opening at Boat Haven came up suddenly and my fav woman shipwright, Diana Talley said "come on, the space right next to our shop is open!" I had no idea how incredibly my life as a wooden boat owner would change. Yes, change! In the past when I've hauled boats, Pax included, I wanted the boat most convenient for me and in Port Townsend, that always meant Point Hudson. Boat Haven was the "big boat" work yard, the place where fishermen and 6 figure haulouts were managed by the "big shops," all way out of my league. The chance to set my 28 foot double ender in a corner, by a fence with grass on one side and asphalt beneath us. Luxurious enough, but then add a brew pub, coffee roaster and the best brunch in the boatyard and it's hard to imagine anything better. The first day, we set up the scaffolding and the next day, 2 young gals (one a boat school grad and the other the daughter of a shipwright) joined me and Diana and Moose, a corker best known for his work on fish boats, got to work at 8. In a week, I got more done than I'd ever experienced during a haulout so I quickly pulled a few items off the wish list, put them on the To Do list and in a second week, they were done! Hauling out immediately next to a shipwright, with tools, power, water, work benches, secure storage for the paints, supplies and an easy way to leave today's progress ready for tomorrow's was absolute heaven. Beyond the blessing to my soul, it likely saved me 40% on the budget for the same list done somewhere else AND we got to laugh more, use our muscles for productive tasks instead of hauling and daily setup/tear down and I got to work side-by-side with professionals, learning every step of the way.