Crappy writing tells you what is happening. Good writing provides you with mental images. Great writing provides you with a sense of being in a place. So…what’s it like to be in this boat shop in Port Townsend?

We are staying at an AirBnB just outside of Port Townsend. It’s comfortable, has showers, and provides a magnificent view of the Olympic mountains. Every morning, we cook a simple breakfast, make coffee, and hop in the car. Matthew wanted to take his rental vehicle, but we insisted he would miss singing camp songs in the car, so he rides with us.

We’ve discovered Pane d’Amore, a bakery conveniently between our AirBnB and the boat shop. This morning, Matthew tells us that the bakery is on him, so we enthusiastically buy croissants, coffee and focaccia.

Push the door to enter (not pull!) and you enter a small space with a display showcase and gourmet olive oil, spices, sauces and local goods. There is a bulletin board showing the local events and it is so much more honest than social media. (These dogs are available for adoption -or- Looking for babysitter -or- 30 foot sailboat for $30,000. )

Oh – but the smell of a bakery is the best smell of all. There aren’t any signs stating that the sourdough bread is fresh. Of Course it’s fresh! A baker in a flour-dusted apron just brought them out of the kitchen. The smell of yeast and dough would be overpowering – if the smell of fresh-baked bread could be overpowering (it can’t). At my funeral, I’m going to stipulate that someone bakes bread during the wake—that’s how I want to be remembered for ever after.

The Boat Shop

We drive through the tourist section of Port Townsend and park in front of the Northwest Maritime Center Boat Shop. It’s a large building — you could stage a major barn dance or wedding inside, except it is full of boats. Boats hang from the rafters. Boats lean up against the walls. Forms for boats lean against the cabinets. Boats in progress (including ours) fill the floor of the shop.

There is a smell to this place, but it isn’t objectionable. It’s a mix of wood smells and varnish. We use a lot of fiberglass epoxy, but it’s a low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) and doesn’t fill with air with solvents.

Unlike most marinas, there are no diesel fumes or motors. Table saws whir, there is the oscillating sound of sanding boats by hand and occasionally a power sander. The radial arm saw punctuates the thrum of boat work, but only for a minute for each cut. It’s easy to have friendly conversations, even when everyone is wearing hearing protection.

It is Carmen’s birthday today. She gets a balloon and a carrot cake. We sing happy birthday. Joel gets the carrots (made of frosting). She’s working on a kit boat, a Scamp from Duckworks named “Joy” in honor of the woman who allowed her to store the boat in her garage for many years. Carmen is making slow progress, but it doesn’t matter. Constructing the boat is just as pleasurable as sailing the boat. What’s the rush?

Trish and her boat are stationed between Carmen and our canoe. She is working on a nesting dingy and you can see her in one of the time lapse videos. Janell, Trish, and Carmen have formed a club – today they all wore purple. Probably by accident, but there may be a deeper meaning. They aren’t telling the boys what this might mean.

Off-Camera

I’ll post today’s time lapse, but it isn’t a complete story. We spent much of today working on wood components such as thwarts, gunnels, yokes, seats, deckplates and handles.

I applied a second coat of varnish on the yokes and thwarts. They are dry and ready to be attached as soon as the gunnels go on the boat.

Rich and Janell are working on the gunnels (gunwhales? gunrails?); rounding the corners and using a router to create scuppers. Scuppers are important. Boats fill with water and when you tip them over, the water sloshes out. If you don’t make scuppers in the gunnels, the water splashes out on your head. If you have scuppers, the water splashes out on your arm. Ask any Widji guide about their preferences. Wood gunnels (instead of aluminum or plastic) will give this boat an authentic look instead of something shipped from a foreign manufacturer.

Woodwork is exacting. The wood is expensive and we can’t afford to screw it up in a big way, so we measure carefully and use scraps for test cuts. Matthew and I are making the frames for the seats, which involves drilling precisely placed holes for dowels that will join the crosspieces to the spacers. We have measured three or more times, yet still the pieces don’t line up. We could accept them for okay and make up for our mistakes with a power sander, but instead, we decide to fill the misplaced holes with glue and dowels, then try again. I spent an hour setting up a drill press to make the exact correct holes and am optimistic we can do a better job tomorrow.

Tidy

When I’m not working on the canoe, I tidy up. Creating boats means creating sawdust. This is a boat shop, so there is a lot of sawdust. I vacuum and sweep. I feel like it is part of the experience. A tidy shop is a happy shop. However, I have put away tools before my comrades finished using them. This does not make me popular. Here is a photo of Joel and Janell discussing my character flaws.

Paella

I bought fresh mussels and clams from Key City Fish Company. It’s an honest fish market where the clerks show up in waterproof coveralls. I take fresh shellfish home and make paella for my people to make up for my transgressions. It fills the kitchen with smells of sauteed garlic, steaming shellfish and cooking rice. It’s colorful and tastes good.

Okay, fine…

Here’s today’s time lapse. We spread fiberglass over the interior of the boat, wet it down with epoxy, then go off to work on gunnels and seats. At 4:30, we flip the boat over and apply extra fiberglass on the stern and bow. Like I said, much of today’s action appears off-camera.