Minifish Sailboat

It is that time of year...  albeit a very short period of time up here in Vermont...  but it is sailing season!  All the grandkids will be here this coming weekend so I want to make sure the sailboat is ready for playing.  I raise the sail, install the rudder and run all the lines so that the kids can play.  Well...  that's assuming it isn't too windy for the sail to be up.

I store the sailboat upside-down through the very long winter.  Today, I cleaned the bottom of the hull and then Sheila and I turned her over so I could clean the topside.  She was filthy!  

After I cleaned the hull, I applied a quick coat of wax and then buffed it out.  It could use another coat or two of wax but the hull is looking nice already with a minimal amount of work.  

I still need to clean the sail, fix the mast with a new part which will test my metalworking skills (which I do rarely), run new lines, and put a quick coat of varnish on the rudder and centerboard.  All of this should go fairly quickly though.  I think I can get all of that done in a few short hours.

As I was waxing the sailboat, I realized that I think this boat is just about 50 years old now.  I'll need to check the plate on the boat.  Hmmm...  maybe she is approaching 50 years old so we might have a few short years to go before we hit 50 years old.  She is old though but she is still looking very good!

That haze in the background is actually wildfire smoke from Canada.  It is definitely affecting my ability to effectively breathe today.  I often have difficulty breathing so it is difficult to say how much this wildfire smoke is affecting my health but today is smokier and my breathing is far worse today.  What I do know for sure is that my breathing is very labored today.

I'll shoot more photos when I get her completely ready for sailing.  I always like seeing photos of her clean, shiny, and ready for sailing just like when she was brand new (I was a teenager then!).  Cleaning and waxing the hull is always the most tedious part of getting her ready though and that is finished for now.