I’ve been lazy on updates this spring, so I find myself already behind and the season has only just begun. Still, I want to give the pre-start to finish rundown this season, so it’s back to May and June with this update, which will hopefully be the first of many in the next few days.
As with all boats, log canoes need a bit of massaging to get back to proverbial match-fitness each season. Unlike most boats, log canoes have a century or so of getting match fit under their belt. This only increases the importance of making sure the proper preparations are taken each spring. Sure, the Silver Heel has seen a multitude of fixes since 1902, including the 2001 (I think) rebuild when the deck was practically sawed off by Tad Dupont, Jimmy Wilson, et. al., but that doesn’t make her any younger. It’s simple: you want to go sailing, you put in the work.
Max Sands the Tip of the Iceberg
As with any log canoe effort, boat preparation is a matter of teamwork. Normally we would try to devote a couple full weekends to getting the job done, but this spring I found myself scrambling to fit short visits to Chestertown in with a busy schedule. While this made time on the Eastern Shore a bit less relaxed as we tried to get all the work done, it also allowed a bunch of people to get involved in getting the Heel ready.
Nick Tackles the Foremast Step
We set to work back in May when college buddy and crack boardman Nick Deane and I joined my little brother, Max, in the boat shed in Chestertown. Despite some side projects (some of which are still not checked off the worklist), the bulk of the work would be in sanding, taping, and varnishing most of the unpainted woodwork on the Heel. I figured we could get the sanding done lickety-split, but my prediction of a quick job turned out to be a bit ambitious. Turns out boards, masts, and all the other varnish work take a while to prepare, so we headed back to DC having gotten a good start but with plenty left to do.
The Heel Awaits Jon, Pierce, and Max
Over the next several weeks, with the aid (and wheels) of Georgetown buddy/boardman Jon Walk, I was able to get out to help Max and cousin Pierce to finish the sanding and tape the boat up for varnish. Although I took some crap for heading back to DC for the Eric Clapton/Steve Winwood concert, our skipper, Peter Esslinger, and all-star fore trimmer Jon Wasserman filled in for me to help Max and Pierce finish up the varnish. It’s pretty nice to see the boat with a fresh coat of varnish, because you know she won’t look as shiny for the rest of the season.
We were hoping to get the boat in the water for the Fourth of July series on June 27th, so Max, my cousin Will, and I headed over the night of the 26th to get a full day of final preparations in before towing the boat down to St. Michael’s. I figured the biggest task of the day would be to slap some West System, grip tape, and varnish on a few boards, but it turns out we weren’t able to spend as much time at the pool as we hoped. In addition to the board work, final preparations included (but were not limited to): lifting the masts onto the boat, running the rigging, finding the sails, getting the sails on the boat (all except the jib, which Peter had lugged down to St. Michael’s to be recut), varnishing missed spots, and doing myriad last-minute fixes.
We got a spot of good luck when my uncle, Brad Johnson, came along to carry away the old deck of the Silver Heel to use as the bar at a party over the weekend. He brought along several of his crew from Persistence, and we roped them into helping us lift the masts onto the Heel. Working on-and-off for the rest of the day, we finally had the Heel ready to float by about 9:30pm. Of course, we still had one more episode before we were in condition to roll out the shed the next morning, but that’s for the next post.
Giving Some Final TLC to the Boards
Having taken the bulk of the preparation for the first time, the runup to the season was a real eye-opener for me. Sailing these boats is a unique treat, but geez, they’re a lot of work–even before thinking about getting on the water.
Masts Up, Captain Wayne Gives Max and Will the Go-Ahead...Almost There!
Tags: Chestertown, Preparations, Rigging
