Splish-Splash! I Was Taking a Bath!

Finally I have time to sit down with a glass of wine and think about the rest of the story! When you work and play in the marine environment this time of year can be a little jammed-packed with everything boat and not necessarily yours. It was very nice to hear from some people asking where the next post was. My answer was always 'next week!' and I really tried, but it is nice to hear that people have been enjoying reading what we have been doing.

Since the last post, Ted and I have been to Nantucket and back again (that is not an innuendo for anything). Once we finished the planks we did not have a lot to do, we were down to the every year maintenance for the most part. I spent most of the last weeks hiding power tools from Ted so that he would stop removing parts from the boat and we could get her in the water. And I can say with confidence that the boat did not make me cry this year! I may have cursed her and her ancestors at certain points but overall we got along... that's me and Restless, I cannot speak to the relationship between Ted and the boat.

In Nantucket sailing in after the last race. After the first day we were in 9th place; we had some kinks to work out. After two more days of racing we managed to tie for first with the top three boats, on a tie breaker we ended up in second! We always have such a great time racing there. 

If you ever get the chance to visit Nantucket it is truly a magical place.

But back to our boat! We wanted to put a garboard plug in the boat this year and as luck would have it after hours suspended down in the bilge I felt an indent. In the case of an IOD the bilge giveth and taketh away! Meaning that for all the tools, screw, nuts, washers, and my soul that we have lost down there in the past three years it finally gave us something back! When Ted sanded the bottom we were able to find her old plug that was perfectly inset and then filled over. After a little digging we were able to unscrew the old plug and after a rain storm this was the result.

Ted always wears a respirator when he sands bottom paint but he wasn't wearing any other protection. And all of a sudden appeared on deck looking like a smurf. 

So I rummaged through my car and was able to put together a more suitable ensemble. I am sure that he is smiling at me. 

Bottom and the water line all sanded. For reference this photo was taken on May 5th. I Also think that was the last time Ted had a hair cut.

To move Restless in and out of the shed we were using this tractor. I was shown how to use it and don't get me wrong I could drive it no problem. But I am the first to admit that I am awful with trailering boats, especially when it is a tight fit between two other boats. Ted, sensing my fear suggested I show him how to shift gears. Ted does not know how to drive a manual... but if you ask him he will tell he can. After driving around the yard with him for awhile he got the hang of it. But I still think he could use a bit more practice before anyone trusts him with a new gear box!

More varnishing... This was on a Sunday and I tried to let Ted know subtly how I felt that day. I think he knew but pretended to be unawares. 

We enjoyed that for the last week or two we were surrounded with two other wooden IOD's. La Diva and Ibis. 

We also enjoyed our evening entertainment! 

As we were finishing up the last work on our classic wooden boat we got to see something a bit more modern! I 100% walked up to Hugo Boss and whispered 'I touched it' as a tentatively put a hand on the deck.

  

The funny thing is that Ted and I were talking about the launch of Restless and neither of us can remember what weekend it was. It could be because after we launched her we had to take her out again. As some of you may know we have a new fiberglass rudder and a new fitting at the top. When we put that in we thought we had used enough 5200, BUT. apparently in that case an entire tube was the answer! Maybe not that drastic, but the advise that was given to me was to 'gloop the hell out of it' and that is what I did. I will tell you that it does not leak anymore. And if Ted and I out live the boat and someone decides to put another rudder fitting on it they will be cursing me and my ancestors. 

I guess most importantly, did the new planks leak? We have been in the water since about the end of May and so far so good! We still have some issues, on starboard tack we have a river running into the boat from the bow. We know what the problem is and we tried to put a bandaid fix on it for the season and it is better then last year but not ideal!  

The boat sat for a few weeks without a mast and in that time it tried to sink. I decided to go down and check on her one fateful Sunday to find water up to the floor boards. I moved the water line up this year, because I found when she sat on the mooring she looked she was sinking. So when I saw the water line halfway submerged I knew there was an issue. I don't think I have ever had a more patient tender boy, he drove me out countless times as I tried to solve the problem. The switch had gone in the boat, but I tested everything before looking into the switch! Always check the switch!

Finally leaving! There is nothing like sailing this boat for the first time every year. We left mid June and as you can see Ted was so excited he lost his shirt. 

Happy Days!

Just a man and his boat

Ted has a special fondness for this boat

This boat is an ongoing project. We are still doing different tasks, the holes you can see in the companion way are now finished with jam-cleats. We know we have a lot of work in front of us but we are working to maintain this boat. Every year we are able to keep this boat going and if you ever get the opportunity to sail her, don't panic, we probably already know where that leak is or where that broken part is. 

I Spun the Threads of Life

It is nice to look at photos of boats and people working on them but that does not get the work done on ours! All of April, save for one weekend due to the flu, we worked on Restless. I cannot say that anything drastic happened compared to before I went gallivanting off across Europe other than now the boat will not sink when we put it in the water. We seem to be getting into the more mundane year to year maintenance which gives us hope that the boat will be in the water before June. But hope is dangerous and I don't trust it! 

After we fit the planks, we had to caulk them. My dad, lucky enough, had some caulking cotton left over from a project and had no future plans to use it. He also let us borrow a caulking iron. After reading our gospel, The Boatwright's Companion: Repairs Below the Waterline, the saying 'lift and tuck- lift and tuck- lift and tuck' rang through my head. We also watched a really good video on how to caulk. I did all of the caulking as I felt that Ted would not have the tender touch to place the cotton into the seams and then the sudden 'THWACK' to get it in. When I was doing it the greek myth about the threads of life with Moirai sisters was replaying in my head; power can be an addicting substance. 

I can honestly say that by the second plank I was getting into to it, but I think I need a bit more practice before I can be as fast as some of the people I watched! In the time I took to caulk two planks, professionals can do half a boat!

The pattern that you make with the cotton reminded me of my Raggedy Ann dolls hair

It is very important that you smell the cotton before using it. It will rot if it gets wet before you whack it into place. 

This is not a a caulking mallet. I nearly finished the first plank with this one. Once I got my hands on a real one it made a world of difference! There is a lot more weight behind a proper caulking mallet. My thumb can tell you call about it. 

This is not all the way in, I pushed a lot more of that further in.

This was clearly our artsy photo shoot! The lighting was perfect

Finding a comfortable position to do this was a bit challenging. I set up various buckets to sit on and when I could I would lean against the trailer. 

In this photo you can see my attempt at keeping the cotton clean as well as the actual caulking mallet laying on top of my bucket with several pieces of wood for the perfect height. 

I did have fun doing this! This is right before I THWACKED all that in

All caulked and ready from some plugs! 

Ted made and put in most of the plugs. (One of our smaller caulking mallets in on the trailer)

Ted and I have been talking about a garboard plug since the boat became Restless. Last year I noticed that she had the fitting for one and then this year I found the hole on the inside. So Ted did some exploring and we found we had a plug! Someone had put filler on top of it and it appears to be a stripped slot head screw head... great... But it is a start, we will try to take what ever plug is in there out, but if that doesn't work we will take the entire fitting out and get a new one. We have a 50/50 shot in my opinion! 

You can hardly tell which one is the new plank...right? We will be sanding the bottom soon and painting so I hope you wont be able to tell! 

We got a coat of varnish on this past weekend. It was nice to spend sometime on deck and we had a very nice weekend to do it.

We are certainly in a different place than last year. We don't have to deal with a baby blue deck and the boat is looking really good. We are feeling the pressure now because the weather has been so nice and we don't want to let her dry out. But it can never be as bad as last year when we were running Henry the heater full time and lights below. The boat has also not made me cry yet, but we still have some work to do so I say I still have a 50/50 shot! 

Restless - A family tradition

I had no idea that when I met Ted that his family was so large or that 98% of them also sail. All I knew when I met him was that he could sail, drink rum, and that his name was Ted. I was soon to find out that there was a little more to that profile.

The year before he met me - now he owns two boats!

Ted is named after his grandfather, Edward Joseph Murphy II. Edward was a character!  The stories that the Murphys have told me about this man make for a story good enough for a film. When it came to naming our IOD, Ted and I spent a whole day coming up with possible names, I am sure we still have the list somewhere. However, I think Ted always knew that we were going to name the boat after his grandfather's Chester C, Restless. I really pushed for the boat to be called the Dayna, but he said I wouldn't like competing for the attention from something with the same name. I say he is waiting for a bigger boat.

We put the name on Restless last year after spending a week deciding on font. Thanks to my sister for her patience!

Chester C's, as their name suggests were designed and built in Chester, Nova Scotia by Benjamin Heisler. I am not sure if she was built first, but she did and does still carry the C 1 sail. She was built in 1937, a year after the first IOD, Aileen, who now sails on the same body of water that the original Restless was built! The Chester C is 37' and carries massive sails; these boat were designed to be fast and race.

This photo was taken during an epic trip from Halifax to Bridgewater during World War II

This photo was taken during the same trip near a 'timber boom' - in the background are logs that would be floated to and from different ports. A method for transporting logs.

Edward bought her from the original owner in 1940, in Back Harbour, Chester, around the corner from where she was built. He picked up her sails from Jon Diamond's house in Chester - if you are familiar with the area, it is the Green House that has tree trunks as porch posts- The sails were made by Ratsey's with narrow sail panels - a beautiful shape.

C 1 - Ratsey Sails 

Of course in that year World War II was happening and most young men had gone to join the army. Edward could not join the military effort over seas because as a child he had scarlet fever, leaving him with a pierced ear drum and he could not be around noise. He tried for the Navy and was rejected, then tried for the army, but because of his issue with noise he was deemed 'bad for war duty'. Eventually, he was able to join the Airforce in the marine division driving a crash boat for downed flyers in Halifax Harbour.

Edward would report for duty with his Chester C, Restless. He had tiresome weeks of 3 days on and 4 days off, leaving him plenty of time to sail Restless. He certainly was never lonely during the war even though most of the young men were away he seemed over come with an abundance of women to keep him company!

Not Ted's Grandmother! 

In the background is Don Haliburton 

A selection of scallywags 

After the war, he continued to sail Restless, as she survived her crash boat work. The yacht club that he became a life time member at, the Royal Nova Scotian Yacht Squadron, reopened, as it had been closed during the war effort, and many of the young men returned to their boats. Racing started up again in 1945, boats from yacht clubs around Halifax and from Chester sailed in the R.N.S.Y.S Opening Regatta. To show their appreciation towards the Chester Fleet, most boats from Halifax accompanied them back to Chester and competed in their Regatta. Restless and Edward won the Visitors Cup in Chester and a tradition was born. The Murphy's have been competing at Chester Race week ever since, and now Ted is continuing in his Grandfather's reputation with Restless, however I am normally on board so I don't think he is entertaining as many young ladies!

In the late 1940's Edward sold Restless and bought a Roue 20, designed by William Roue; the same designer as the Bluenose. The Roue continued Edwards need for speed and he passed that along to his children. Ted's father owns a Roue 20, he might actually own two... 

The Roue 20 with the canoe used as a tender!

We do not know where this is... Any guesses? 

The Roue in front of the Murphy summer houses in Jollimore, near the Dingle. Before you could put the cotton sails away you had to dry them. 

Eventually she was sold as well and Edward went on to sail the schooner the Hebridee, designed by William Roue, for the rest of his life. The Hebridee was later donated to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic where she underwent a major refit.

The Hebridee - Ted still wears that hat!

Restless is now in the good hands of the people of Lunenburg Boat Works, where they are under going a labour of love to get her sailing again! She is no longer called Restless anymore, once sold she was renamed the Gannet, and they plan on keeping the name. We wish them all the luck, we know the trials of working on an old stubborn wooden boat, and we will check on her again after the busy boat season has ended!

Will, Pat, and Rebecca - the only ones we found working on a Sunday! 

Ted on deck? - down to the bones, they are doing a major job! 

Only a little bit of day light

The Mascot 

Go and Get Planked!

I don't think I'm in Canada any more!

As many of you might know I have left Ted to his own devices.  I am travelling until April and Ted has been left under strict instructions not to remove any more planks! The plan always was that we would do the two planks in question before I left for my trip. We knew what we were up against after putting the first one in and we were down to the wire! 

This plank had the most annoying curve to shape. Ted liked to leave it wedged in like this and walk away. I was not a big fan of this practice. 

The weather cooperated really nicely for us and we were able to open the bay doors. Being able to see what you are doing made life a lot easier. You can see how shinny the paint it!

I did all the planning on the second plank. Ted's shoulders were sore from the other one. The life of a lawyer! 

The warmer weather and the light made for less stressful weekend. 

This plank had a bit of curve to it. We had to set up braces to wedge the plank in place. We were also a bit smarter about cutting the end. 

There's that winning fit! The mahogany was such a rich brown, it's a shame we will be painting it!

There is Ted carefully finding my pencil line. I stood over him threatening his life if he messed it up. I dislike using chop-saws. Whenever I can I make someone else do it. 

We were able to find a chunk of lead to help us. We had to move it together it was so heavy. 

So, if you think that plank looks familiar you would be right! That is plank we first put in. I wasn't happy with the fit and forced Ted to take it out and glue some more wood on and refit it. 

We broke our hammer making our braces. 

The first of the fastenings going in!

In the background you can see our three braces. We got clever for one. We found a jack stand and it worked perfectly. 

Family photo. As you can see it is a very tight fit with the boat next to us!

We also broke the driver bit

And the tapered drill bit and a regular drill bit. It was an expensive weekend!

The final result.  Told Ted that I wanted to have both planks in before I left and we did.

I am now receiving cryptic photos from Ted about what he just did on the weekend. Its seems him and Jamie are drilling holes into the boat! I would say I'm worried but the beer and the sun make that hard!


** authors note. The quality of this blog may have been impaired by beer.