I grew up in a sailing family. I learned by example from my dad, then by experimentation after that. Since our early boats had no engines (nor did they go in reverse!) I did not learn about docking except how to sail a tiny light boat up to a dock and turn into the wind. […]
Boats & Boatwork
First we choose a boat, then we spend the rest of our lives working on it.
This is the section of the site for these topics. Read about Choosing Boats or you can look up Performance Parameters for various boats and compare them.
Interior Nonskid: Walnut Shells and Varnish
Our companionway stairs had worn through to bare wood. The nonskid tape had started to lift in a few places. The entire surface looked tired and un-loved. But how do you re-varnish your companionway stairs? There is no way I can get in and out of the boat (safely) without them, and stripping and re-varnishing […]
Refinishing a Non-skid Deck
Eurybia is 27 years old and the pre-formed nonskid deck was failing. The gelcoat is still in excellent condition, but the non-skid is stained, cracking, and you could see the silvery thread of fiberglass showing through in places. In the past we have used KiwiGrip paint on our decks and we decided to use it […]
Procrastination Gets Cruising Jobs Done
Yesterday I decided that today would be a great day to polish the stainless on the port side of the deck. Isn’t it funny how tomorrow always seems a great day to do big jobs that you don’t particularly enjoy? So being a conscientious and hard-working sort I of course decided the galley was a […]
What’s in a Name: Boat Lettering
After months of working on the boat I finally got around to removing the old name and putting the new name on. We haven’t done the renaming ceremony yet, but tradition says that the old name has to be removed and the new name added (but covered) before the ceremony can be held. So a […]
Finishing Touches: Oil finishes on marine interiors
I’ve been working on interior marine finishes lately, sorting out what our preferences will be for the new boat. Our last boat, Phoenix, had a mahogany interior and everything was varnished in the traditional marine way with a high-gloss varnish. Eurybia has a teak interior and a subtle rubbed finish that has become popular in […]
