110 Cookson Lane | Whitefield, ME 04353 | 207-232-7600 | tim@lackeysailing.com
After another light sanding of the head bulkheads and sole, I cleaned up and applied the first of a couple coats of semi-gloss white enamel, the same as I used elsewhere in the cabin. (Not shown: the access hatch and cabinet door panels)
I lightly sanded the new fiberglass on both sides of the old depth transducer opening, which completed the work inside the boat (pending bilge paint in that space). On the exterior, I applied a first coat of fairing compound as needed to smooth the new fiberglass into the adjacent surfaces
According to documentation provided by the current owner, in the 1980s a previous owner made sweeping changes to this boat, most notably a completely new cabin trunk that was wider and taller than the original fiberglass one and related interior changes. But my favorite was a clever modification to the standard centerline-mount table in the saloon that allowed the forward half of the table to fold down and inside the fixed aft section, all the while maintaining function of various folding leafs in a surprisingly functional way. I never would have found the time to conceive and engineer such a thing, but it impressed me because despite its Goldberg-esque complexity, it actually worked really well, and simply for all that.
When I dismantled the boat in 2010, I had to figure out a way to remove the table for safekeeping and ostensibly for refinishing, and this removal effort took some investigation and head-scratching but I eventually prevailed. See the log from May 17, 2010 for details on that. Now, years later, and with the specifics long forgotten, it was time to reinstall the table. The table surface still required some varnish maintenance, but I thought that would actually be easier with the table in place. So after cleaning up the table to remove dust from storage, I reinstalled it, first the fixed after section. This fit over the after part of the centerboard fixture in the cabin, with several screws through the top and cleats on the side to secure it, plus a wooden filler piece that enclosed entirely the centerboard pendant tube. I bunged the screw holes in the top after installation.
The forward section attached to the aft piece with a pair of hinges, and incorporated a swing-down leg that automatically fastened to the top of the centerboard trunk. The whole thing folded up and pivoted aft to store neatly beneath the fixed section. One would never think such a thing would work; yet it did, and well. This is what so impressed me, beyond the thought process that had clearly been required to come up with a functional means of making it happen: I'd never have the patience to conceive something this fussy, and generally prefer simplicity vice complexity, but in this instance I had to hand it to the shadetree engineer who built this thing.
To observe the pieces out of context would vex even the most dedicated Goldberg aficionado, but in their final element the pieces of this complex yet simply-built system worked together and did exactly what was intended. And the folded table even enclosed and hid the very prominent fiberglass structure that was part of the centerboard works, and which otherwise would be a blatant eyesore in the middle of the cabin.
In the immediate future, I'd sand and varnish the table tops to restore their appearance.
Along with the table I found a piece of missing companionway trim: the stop trim piece for the aft edge of the hatch, which, when installed, would prevent the hatch from sliding too far forward (or removed entirely). Now I reinstalled the trim, which I'd apparently stripped and sanded at some point in the distant past, and bunged its screw holes. Later, I varnished this trim, along with the new companionway trim that I'd been working on, and the head locker door frames.
Total Time Billed on This Job Today: 5.5 Hours
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0600 Weather Report:
60°, foggy. Forecast for the day: Becoming sunny, hot, and humid, near 90°
