Lackey Sailing | tim lackey

At the end of March and with the completion of the project, I prepared the boat generally for transport to the owner’s new location in Florida. I packed various loose gear into several lockers in the boat, and filled the cockpit lockers with sails old and new, stowing everything carefully to prepare for the boat’s long over-the-road journey ahead.

With the country embroiled in the various lockdowns and restrictions related to the advent of COVID-19 in March, along with additional complications at the owner’s end and this country’s utter inability to better handle (or in certain circles even properly acknowledge) the spread of the virus, transportation of the boat was delayed for several months, during which time I maintained the boat indoors for protection, keeping the batteries topped off with weekly charging.

Towards the end of the summer, the owner, having moved to Florida and taken care of the boat registration and other requirements, scheduled a transport date of August 24. With this date a few weeks ahead, I took care of a short list of final preparations, including storing the full-length mainsail battens and main boom in the cabin, all carefully secured and chafe-protected within. I also moved the mast around to the front of the shop where it’d be readily accessible for the truck. Back in March, I’d wrapped the spars in plastic for protection during transportation; with the delay in shipment, I covered the stored mast with additional heavy tarps for extra protection and to keep the clear plastic from falling apart in the sun and weather, but now I removed the excess tarps.

Also, at the owner’s request I installed the garboard drain plug in advance, so the commissioning yard wouldn’t have to worry about its proper installation. I used a small amount of sealant on the threads, and screwed in the plug tightly before coating the plug with bottom paint when I took care of the jackstand patches. Since this particular hard bottom paint had a limited time it could be exposed before launching, the owner chose to have the commissioning yard apply a second and final coat over the whole bottom in Florida.

On deck, I made sure all the locker lids and companionway were secured properly, and added small bolts through the locking holes just to ensure the latches couldn’t spring open unintentionally. With all loose gear, canvas covers, and so forth stowed below, and the tiller secured, the boat was ready above and belowdecks for her relocation. Note that for transport purposes, I chose to use the ugly old plywood companionway drop board, keeping the newly-made versions safely in the cabin.

With the new registration from the owner, I had a set of numbers made up for the bow of the boat, using the same gold leaf and dark blue outline as with the name on the transom, but in a basic block to satisfy the display requirements. With an indicated state requirement to display properly the HIN on the transom–if there’d ever been a stamped or molded number there it was long gone by the time I started the project–I had a set of the numbers made up from vinyl and installed them on the upper starboard side of the transom as well.

Friday

The primer was well-cured overnight, and to begin I lightly sanded the hull to smooth the primer and prepare it for whatever topcoat the owner chose (final painting was outside my project scope). It was easy and quick to sand the primer, and afterwards I removed the masking tape, vacuumed, and solvent-washed to complete the project.

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Total time billed on this job today: .0.5 hours

0600 Weather Observation: 62°, fog. Forecast for the day: Becoming mostly sunny, 83°

Thursday

After letting the new varnish sit for more than a day, I turned the boat over carefully and propped it on some saw horses to raise the hull to a comfortable working level. As I was masking off varnished gunwale and the waterline, I discovered a series of old holes in the transom that I’d not noticed before, so before I could get to the primer I had to prepare and epoxy-fill these holes.

Fortunately, it was a very warm day, and with some heat lamps trained on the epoxy to help even further, the filler cured sufficiently to allow sanding after lunch, enabling me to continue with masking and final primer preparations.

With cleaning, masking, and other preparations complete, I applied the first of two planned coats of white primer.

After a few hours, I could go right over with a second coat.

Total time billed on this job today: 1.75 hours

0600 Weather Observation: 60°, fog. Forecast for the day: Sunny, 87°

Wednesday

The owner asked me to fill a series of small, abandoned fastener holes in the hull, just beneath the gunwale, so to start the day I prepared the holes by using a countersink to enlarge them a bit, then, after masking over the insides, filled the holes with an epoxy mixture. Later in the day, this had cured enough for me to sand and refill as needed.

With the varnish work complete, I removed all the masking tape, and reassembled the support beneath the center thwart. Then, I secured the after oarlocks with new bronze screws.

Otherwise, I let the fresh varnish sit for most of the day, giving it additional cure time before I had to flip the boat over and prime the hull, which would by my next (and final) task according to the project scope.

Total time billed on this job today: 0.5 hour

0600 Weather Observation: 60°, cloudy. Forecast for the day: Cloudy, thunderstorms in the afternoon, 82°

Tuesday

After a light sanding and thorough cleanup, I applied the sixth coat of gloss varnish to the thwarts, gunwales, and other woodwork in the dinghy.

Total time billed on this job today: 1 hour

0600 Weather Observation: 66°, mainly clear. Forecast for the day: Mostly sunny, 76°

Monday

Fifth coat! What more is there to say?

I know not what, so have a good day!

Total time billed on this job today: 1 hour

0600 Weather Observation: 60°, fog. Forecast for the day: Clearing, sunny, 76°

Saturday

Following the usual procedures, I completed the fourth coat of varnish.

Total time billed on this job today: 1 hour

0600 Weather Observation: 60°, clouds, fog, drizzle. Forecast for the day: Slow clearing, 76°

Friday

Continuing the process with the brightwork, after a light sanding and cleanup, I applied the third coat of varnish to all areas.

Total time billed on this job today: 1 hour

0600 Weather Observation: Cloudy, 60°. Forecast for the day: Mostly cloudy, 73°

Thursday

After lightly sanding the first coat of varnish and cleaning up as needed, I applied the second coat of gloss varnish to all areas.

Total time billed on this job today: 1.25 hours

0600 Weather Observation: Fog, 60°. Forecast for the day: Clouds and fog giving way to sun, 84°

Wednesday

To begin the day’s work, I sanded the hull to prepare it for new primer and eventually paint (though the finish paint was outside of my project scope). After briefly experimenting to determine how much sanding the hull would require, I eventually went over the whole hull with a finish sander and 80-120 grit paper, removing all of the blue paint and getting down to the sound substrate beneath. The green paint below had been well-applied, with primer beneath, and since it was sound I did not bother trying to remove all the old primer and paint, as what remained would make a good substrate for new primer.

Next, I turned the boat upright again, and sanded all the woodwork as needed to prepare it for varnish.

After vacuuming and solvent-wash, I masked off the hull and hardware as needed all around the boat, inside and out. Since I’d not been able to remove the ring fitting on the inside of the transom, I used small stuff running from an old hardware hole in the stem (these holes and others to be later filled before hull priming) to secure the ring tightly to keep it out of the way during the upcoming varnish work.