Wouldn't That Be Awesome if...

...Per Damm got my boat? I'd briefly met Per in Flensberg 2007 because his boat is the same color scheme as mine and I felt it necessary to meet him at the time because of that fact. Weird, I know, but it was a connection. Anyway, as luck would have it, Per drew Josephine and I was pleased someone who would appreciate her could have her and take care of her for the week. I was just concerned that I had thrown everything back together so quickly at the end that something would go wrong... A pin come loose or a vang knot come undone... Thankfully, none of those fears came true and the boat performed as she should. Per and his crew's biggest complaint? The whisker pole clips were in the wrong spot. Ok guys, I'll take that under consideration. Hopefully, see you in Kerteminde.

Just in Time

With literally no time to spare, Josephine was done, ready and presentable for the SF Cup. The sail down from Sausalito to Richmond was the only time I'd actually sailed her and pretty close to a whole year had gone by. Then the question was, who'd get my boat? I was secretly hoping Christoph would get it, kick ass and win. But then I saw the list of entrants for the first time and thought...

Poppin' in the Stick

Call me crazy, but I think it's fun to recklessly drive down the freeway with a long ass piece of wood strapped to the top of my truck. Makes me feel like an outlaw or something. Probably how Bo and Luke Duke would feel runnin' from Roscoe P. Coltrane, jumpin' over the bridge that was always out of commission.
Please watch this to understand: http://youtu.be/zRX4mlFi06A
Ok, maybe not like that, but you get the idea.

Borrowed the Tripod from Peter

After the boat was splashed I fetched the tripod from Peter Jeal's shop (cost me a 12 pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer), I swear I should just build me one of those contraptions myself... and get my own trailer... and a sprayer... and an orbital wet sander... and a... uh, yeah.

All ready for the stick now.

Buffed the Hull

Again, thank you Patrick for this day of labor. Not only did we buff the hull, we also rebedded the gudgeons and tightened them up before the bottom was painted, and fixed a bunch of little things inside and out.

Bottom Job

Without going into the details... I got a respectable bottom job from KKMI, but I had to be there, take pictures, argue my points, was made to feel like a not so important customer, call them on their workmanship before I could get them to agree to make it right for the price we had discussed. I really do hate that feeling of being taken advantage of. The problem here is I have experience with Folkboat bottoms. I've done the job from start to finish a few times and have also paid to have it done more times. And every time I have talked with the guys who do the work and spec out every detail so I know I'm getting the best I can get under the circumstances... and I take pictures. Lots of pictures. It's hard to argue against pictures.
The bottom was prepped, rolled and tipped one coat and hung to dry over night. Not ideal like I can get at Svendsen's, but it would have to do. It was a relationship of convenience and that part is thankfully over.

Yes I neglected the bottom

After the season ended, I sailed the boat to Sausalito with my family, tied it up and did absolutely nothing. I just left it. Sick of spending the money, time and energy on this boat. I put her to sleep. But the SF Cup was coming. I didn't want any aspect of the boat to be an excuse for someone to blame on their poor performance so I needed a quick (cheap) plan. The mast was out, I don't have and engine or a lot of time and I decided to take a leave of absence from my job so I didn't have a lot of money. I'd have taken her to Svendsen's like I have taken both my folkboats and even boats that weren't mine for the last 10 years, but it was just too far, too much trouble and would cost too much for what the boat needed to get through the sf cup and the winter. Goebel helped me literally row my boat over to KKMI cause it took like... 15 minutes tops to do it and they have a bottom package that could fit my shrinking budget. But after my experience at KKMI I'm not sure I will ever take my boat there again. The attention to detail without having to ask for it at Svendsen's is just so worth the day sail there and back. But, back to what I felt I had to get done...

Yes, I neglected to bottom

BTW Annika is a Tree Monkey

Gelcoat the Cabin 2...3

The second attempt was much better, but The color was still not right and there were too many holidays. So, as we both stared at it I said, I'm sorry but we have to do it again and now we've got time pressure to get this boat done and ready for the SF Cup. We took a collective deep breath then went at it with focus and detail. We improved our strategies and technique this time and nailed it. The goal was to match the mast color and we got it. It was a teamwork perseverance story and I'm so proud to call Patrick my friend because only a true friend would have stuck to it thought the end. Now I could finally put the rest of this boat back together again and thankfully Patrick hadn't abandoned me mid project.

Gelcoat the Cabin Take 1

Patrick Morgan is a stud. I love this guy. He has been the most valuable crew I could possibly ever have. His commitment to the team and the value he brings to the table will never be equalled. And this whole gelcoat the cabin thing was his idea. I would have never done it and just overlooked the cracks and dings if it wasn't for him... but the first attempt failed. The propellant was intended for smaller jobs, the color didn't match and the coverage was poor. I and Patrick were bummed. Mistakes were made and we learned from them. We had to try again, but timing was bad and we both had other things going on so we had to wait almost 3 weeks before we could try again.

Mast Completed

I took my time. I replaced screws and bolts. New wire halyards, new jib halyard shiv, I even replaced the broken masthead fly... I only did that because I was lending the boat for the SF Cup. I never use that thing. I'm quite sure it slows us down... wind resistance and weight aloft ya know. Also had a new mast protector made. I'll spare you the drama of that ordeal. But let it suffice to say that the Starbuck Canvas co in Sausalito does not have my confidence to build the full cover I was thinking of getting. The final product turned out ok, but I had to work too hard to get what I had originally asked for. I hate it when I catch a business deal in a full on bullshit foul. I'm only half as dumb as I look, so I got what I wanted. Alright, enough about that... moving on.

Heel Cup and Varnished Bits

I experimented with the whole stainless polishing thing with the heel cup cause I figured if I botched it all up nobody would really see it. I think it turned out pretty good so I followed that pattern on the rest of the pieces before I put them back on the mast.
The weather was perfect for varnish. I laid out all the wood pieces and put many many coat upon them... the rest of the down below area would be next, but this one other looming task was getting in the way if even starting that project.

The Spreaders

As usual, I almost forgot the spreaders! Luckily, all this boat project stuff was in my driveway and easily remedied.

The Mast cont...

A coat of primer and 3 top coats of paint later, the mast started to look pretty good. I polished a few more pieces of stainless, but the biggest challenge was yet to come and it proved to be the lynch pin in the whole scheme of things.

The Mast cont...

Then in June? The sun came out and started in on the epoxy resin sealer... 4 coats.