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Tough Sledding

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Tough Sledding by Michael Lovett

April 17, 2012

The Water Warms, the Clock Ticks

by Michael Lovett
image-120416sled
© Michael Lovett
Proud parents: Dad and I pause our Easter Egg hunt to admire our handiwork. 

With sailing season rapidly approaching, the pressure to finish work on the Sled intensifies.

For all the hard work we put in varnishing the Sled this winter, I expected to feel more relieved after we applied the final coat—which we finally did the other day. Instead, I'm feeling annoyed and overwhelmed. 

February 6, 2012

It's February, And I'm Still Sanding

by Michael Lovett
image-cliff960
© Michael Lovett
On Saturday, I sanded the hard-to-reach places. Notice how I missed the aft surface of the starboard bench support?

Rehabbing the Thistle takes a long time when you don't spend much time rehabbing the Thistle.

This weekend I jumped off a cliff. Figuratively speaking, of course. Over the holidays, my father and I applied the first coat of varnish to the Sled, the wooden Thistle we've been working on for the past few months. (This isn't a several-months-long project, but that's what it becomes when work takes place sporadically on the weekends.

January 5, 2012

Sledding Through the Holidays

by Michael Lovett

We didn't have a white Christmas in Cleveland, so I put in some hours with the Sled.

Without much snow on the local ski hill, I had no excuse not to spend some time indoors over the holidays, working on the Sled. Though my father and I have been working on the boat for the past few months, the results are only just now beginning to show.

December 1, 2011

Preserving Old Wounds

by Michael Lovett

Making repairs to the Sled is like entombing the boat's battle scars beneath layers of epoxy and varnish.

Sanding the Sled the past few weeks, I've been noticing all the old epoxy repairs marking the boat's history. Some of them I remember—like the faint scar where the vang cleat pulled away from the centerboard trunk during a Midwinters race years ago—and some I've only just discovered.

November 21, 2011

I Think I Varnished My Teeth

by Michael Lovett
image-stones368
The Rolling Stones set another bad example.

The process of rehabbing my father's Thistle may soon include a trip to the dentist.

I'm not sure if it's even possible, but I think I varnished my teeth.

Yesterday afternoon, I tuned in the Cleveland Browns game on the radio, wrapped my foam block with 320-grit paper, and continued sanding away at the Sled, the wooden Thistle I'm in the process of varnishing. Last weekend, I worked through all the nooks and crannies of the bow and mast-step areas; the back of the boat is less intricate, so yesterday's sanding went relatively quickly.

November 14, 2011

The Mythology of Sanding

by Michael Lovett
image-sanding368b
© Michael Lovett
It's a lot smoother than it looks.

Don't bother getting philosophical about sanding. Just get started.

I'm stuck in an infinite loop of surface preparation. The first stage of revarnishing the Sled, my father's Thistle, involves sanding off the top coat of old varnish to achieve uniform smoothness. Right about now, it feels like I've been sanding for weeks, getting nowhere, with no end in sight. 

October 25, 2011

Writing the Next Chapter

by Michael Lovett
image-sled368
--

I spent Saturday sanding the Sled in a classic rock-induced trance, and I learned a little more about the boat's legacy.

It was "double-shot weekend" on 98.5 WNCX, Cleveland's Classic Rock—perfect music for sanding. I turned the Panasonic to loud, grabbed a few sheets of 240 grit and a foam sanding block, slipped on my Musto kneepads, and crawled into the bow of the Sled, my dad's Thistle, which I'm in the process of rehabbing in his garage.

October 17, 2011

Taking Baby Steps

16
by Michael Lovett
image-sled368
--

Rehabbing my father's wooden Thistle should be a relatively simple task. Or, at least, it would be for anyone but me.

I'm not a handy person. I mean, I'm not totally helpless with a toolbox, but I've never been Mr. Fix It. I just don't have that mechanical ability that comes naturally to some people, like my friend Billy. Recently, a chain saw seized up on me. It had been working fine—I had the right mix of gas and oil in the tank, and the chain was well lubricated. But one day, I went to pull the cord, and it just wouldn't budge.