A surprise project and an epiphany

Inspiration does not come easily for me. It can not be forced, it must come from a usually fleeting thought. I have to start writing at the time or it becomes difficult to catch again. Like dropping a $20 bill on a windy day. You'll chase it for as long as it takes to get it back in your possession. I'm going to get personal in this entry. As time marches on, the hurdles are getting bigger as well as the rewards.

Part of having a naturally creative mind is that it can be a bit self destructive at the same time. What most would call accomplishments, I see the ways I can do it better. It is a tight rope that I balance every day. It also can be paralyzing in the process of building. I have this picture in my mind as to the final product. Every step towards it becomes a greater challenge to preserve the ideal outcome. Case in point. I've faired and polished the Petrel Plug to perfection. It is the culmination of all of my skills to this point. Now it sits in the molding frame, flange sealed and the PVA will not lay out. It must be a reflection of what lies under it or the mold will reflect the PVA surface, not the polished plug. So I keep pushing forward until I am satisfied with the results, no matter how many steps must be re-done to get there. I'll update the progress on the mold in another entry. 

So, I get an email from Nick Schade of Guillemot Kayaks. It simply states one of the boats he just completed got damaged. The email was accompanied by some pictures. He asked if I would be willing to fix it. After looking at it I said no problem, I could take care of it. As the story unfolded, the internal pressure that I struggle with started to ramp up. The boats owner is a very affluent person and this is one of Nick's museum quality builds. No pressure right? After it all sunk in and I had the boat in my possession, I thought to myself, "I'm going to take a saw to a work of art"? Then it occurred to me, how did I get here..to this point? The next freight train of thoughts took me to a very humbling place. It took a conversation with my better half, Jayme, for it all to sink in. She pointed out that I was starting to enjoy the culmination of all of my "imperfect" accomplishments. I have a reputation that took years to build. It was through her that I was able to see the path and where it has led. I have come to another defining moment, another turning point. This time I can be present in the moment rather than realizing it after the fact.

Approaching a repair is different than a build. I pride myself in being able to restore to original condition or improve. Now, a Guillemot museum quality build is something different because the bar is so high. Restoration is the goal, back to original and undetectable that there was ever any type of damage. So, the story goes that a family pet started to use the boat as a very expensive chew toy. The customer has not even had the chance to put the boat in the water. The damage is confined to the bow and stern stems and, luckily, did not affect the book matched mahogany. The boat is clear coated with Automotive Clear Coat with a very highly reflective surface. Any wave, or blemish in the preparation will shine like beacon when the clear goes on.

Like I said earlier, taking a saw to a highly prized boat requires planning and patience. I'm leaning on my experience with the materials to make this a more predictable sequence of events. So, I dove in with my trusty oscillating tool. Cutting the stems off close as possible to the joint. The rest of the removal process was all done by hand to have complete control. Once removed, the painstaking job of fitting the new stems began. Again, all by hand for a precision fit. Once I was satisfied with the fit, both stems were trimmed to shape and epoxied to the boat.

Next up was blending and shaping the stems. Great care was taken to replicate the shape of the originals and to blend the new stems into the hull. The tools of choice here were a plane, sanding block and my hands. The most important tool we possess is our hands. It's one thing to feel a part, but a completely different experience happens when you close your eyes. One sense is shut off and all your attention is focused on every movement as you run your fingertips over the surface. It it possible to feel something that is invisible until the finish is applied. After they had been sanded satisfactorily, fiberglass was applied and the epoxy blended into the undamaged area.

Now the fun begins. I was dreading the next step as I am rusty applying the clear coat. I did have one big thing in my favor. A collapsable paint booth was left behind by another tenant in the complex. The manager asked if I wanted it and I quickly took him up on his offer. Once installed I had a dust free environment to apply finishes. This was the first project to test the room and it passed with flying colors. 

Taking into account my rustiness with clear, I applied an extra coat knowing that the boat would require buffing to get the shine I was after.  I did have one unexpected boo-boo in the form of a sag that would need correcting before block sanding for final buffing. I thought to myself that this could be another teachable moment, so here is how you remove a sag. 

So, here is the secret. Sanding a sag will remove everything around it before it completely disappears. As ugly as this looks, it was perfectly flat once it was sanded out. To protect the surrounding surface, glazing putty was smeared over the sag to protect the surrounding clear coat. 600 grit wet sandpaper (on a sanding block) was used to remove the sag. Once the glazing putty is sanded off, the sag will be gone. Once buffed, this spot could not be found. 

After several rounds with successively finer grits of sand paper, ending with 2000 grit. The prize was finally in view. Several exhaustive days were spent sanding before and after the clear coat to ensure a finish that was as close to flawless as I could make. The stress started to lift with each successive pass with the buffer. Even under fluorescent light, the finish was exactly what I was working for. Once in the sun, I had to take a moment to take it all in. 

As I said before, this one was different. My reputation, as well as Nicks and Guillemot Kayaks was on the line. My goal was to bring it back to original. The journey to achieve that, exposed something unexpected. I had exceeded my own expectations. It took several days for that to sink in. Truthfully, I am still processing it now. One thing does stand out. I have raised my own bar and the timing is perfect. I strive to be the best, because every boat I build will ultimately be my legacy. Every customer that buys a Turning Point Kayak will have the same attention to detail in their boat. Bringing the artistry of wood into the composite market is what I intend to do. If this is the benchmark, the sky is the limit.