Varnish 101....

One of the things Jill and I liked about this boat when we first saw her was the touch of teak that keeps it looking classic. It really sets these older boats apart from the more modern style. One of the things I really like now is that we don't have more.....

The woodwork was really getting chalky and pealing and it was time to re-do it while we have a covered slip and a break in the weather.

It took us 11 days straight working from 9 to 5 or 6 with lots of Advil along the way. The good news is this should last several years with just a light sanding and top coat annually.

The first step is to strip all the old varnish with a heat gun and sand several times starting with 150 grit working down to 320. After the first day I remembered to wear gloves...that thing gets hot!!

Removed what we could to make it easier.

Next is to tape everything off and give it all one last sanding. We vacuumed everything followed by a tack cloth and a wipe down with mineral spirits to ensure all the dust was removed.  We were using a newer product that allowed us to apply up to 3 coats a day with a light sanding after every 2 or 3 using 400 grit. Traditional varnish requires 1 coat per day with a sanding after each coat. 

Ready for varnish.

Final inspection.

We cut the first coat 50/50 with Xylene to allow it to really soak into the wood. After that it was full strength with each coat. We ended up with 6-7 coats on everything when it was all done. We're very happy with the way it turned out. The color is a bit darker than what was on there before but it looks even better and matches the interior wood now. 

Hand Rail.

Toe Rail and Door.

Before and After.

We did one side and the back of the boat the first week then turned the boat around to do the other side. It took about an hour for each coat and we gave it another hour to set up before applying another coat. This gave us a bit of time to rest in between which we didn't use...we found other things to keep us busy. Since we took the bell off to varnish we thought it'd be a prefect time to see if it still shines!

Coming back to life.

Still Shines!!

We also took the time to wax and polish parts of the boat that were easier to do while we had things apart. Today we got a good coat of wax on the whole back of the boat. We are getting really close to having the exterior ship shape for our big adventure. We both agree we don't want to have any large projects hanging over us while we're on the loop.

Wax on Wax off...

We did get a break this past weekend for a visit from friends and another Pier 5 party but I'll save that for another post...its beer'30.

Nashville Trip Part 2

When we left off we had arrived in Nashville and hit the town running. After a hard day on the river we were able to soldier on and managed to have a good night on the town. Wednesday we recovered a bit but picked right up where we left off. The first stop for a bite to eat and a few beers is one of my favorites, the Flying Saucer Bar which has a great selection of draft beer. As we made our way back down Broadway we hit another favorite Roberts Western World which always has great live music, even at 2:00 in the afternoon. I tried out my artsy side again with the camera.

Old Time Hillbilly Music

As the afternoon wore on we made our way back to the boat to clean up and wait for our friends Chris & Dan. They weren't able to make the whole trip but rented a one way car to drive in and make the return leg, that's dedication! Once they were in we caught up and had a few "docktails" before heading back up Broadway.

The General Jackson passed by.

Chris & Dan

After a late dinner and some live music at one of Nashville's newest venues, The Acme Feed & Seed Jill and I headed back to the boat while the rest of the crew headed out for some more exploration. I'm not sure what time they made it back to the boat but they seemed a bit off the next morning....

Fortunately they were all able to rally in time to man stations for the lock at Cheatham. The weather had improved dramatically with highs in the low 80's low humidity and not a cloud in sight, Heading down river with the current from the earlier storms we were making 10-11 mph at 1500 rpm's, much nicer than the uphill slog.

Lock in sight.

A Great Crew!!

We made it into Clarksville by mid afternoon and had plenty of time to relax before dinner. This time we chose the Liberty Park Grille right next to the marina. Again, a very nice dinner. 

Friday was another easy day with great weather as we made our way back to Lake Barkley State Park. As the Cumberland widened back into Lake Barkley Jill got some nice shots of some of the wildlife in this area.

Kentucky Pelicans??

Who Knew??

The crew seemed to be in much better spirits today after a good nights rest. 

Even though the lake is very wide here you still have to carefully follow the channel. There are many twists and turns and if you try to take a shortcut you may be calling for a tow boat. The following is a picture of a flock of American Coots. If you look closely you'll see they are standing and not floating.

Saturday was a short day so we got a bit latter start and finally got in that swim in the bay before returning to Green Turtle Bay. 

It was a great trip and even better to spend time with our good boating friends. Hopefully we'll all do it again soon where the water is crystal clear and salty!

Thank You Crew!!

Next up Jill and I will be stripping the exterior woodwork and learning how to varnish. Not nearly as much fun but one of the several items left on our punch list before we head south. Less than 2 months left...it's crunch time!!

Nashville Trip Part 1

As promised in the last installment this is the report from our trip up the Cumberland River to Nashville. I've decided to break it down to 2 parts to keep you on the edge of your seats (and awake)

We were joined on this leg of the trip by Vickie and Brian, friends from our old marina in Cincinnati. You may remember them as they joined us last fall for the trip down to Green Turtle Bay. It was their "honeymoon cruise".

We had an easy first day planned to help make the next 2 smoother. Only about 30 travel miles Sunday the 26th to Prizer Point Marina. The forecast as of Saturday night was for a high in the 90's with 0% chance of rain. My first mistake of the trip was not checking again before leaving the dock. After a short time we pulled into a bay to spend some time in the water. We got the anchor set in a nice cove and were spending a few minutes being sure we were secure when we heard the first rumble of thunder...oops. We looked behind us to see a line of dark clouds headed our way. A quick check of the radar confirmed we were in for a bit of rain. After waiting awhile we decided to get underway and have our swim break on the other end of the trip. We spent the next few hours in and out of rain but the traffic was light as the other boaters had checked their radar...

The sun came out as we pulled up toward Prizer so we dropped the hook again for that swim. I had been calling the marina for 3 days prior to the trip to get a reservation but no one seemed to be able to give me an answer. This should have been a clue. I called again within sight of the office and was told to pull up to the fuel dock and they would try to find a spot for us. Well, the fuel dock was full of pontoon boats and I had had enough! A quick call to Lake Barkley State Park confirmed they had plenty of room and would be glad to have us. We were underway again for a 5 mile run up river and were tied up in a nice covered slip about 4 o'clock. We wasted no time in breaking out the paddle board and a few beers for some water time.

Vickie is a natural

Brian has an "accident" to cool off.

I even got to spend a bit of time on/in the water. I'm not sure if the board needs more air or less weight...

We had a nice dinner at the marina grill (no beer on Sunday) and returned to the boat for a nightcap. 

With a longer day scheduled for Monday we were away from the dock by 0830 and headed up the lake by 0900. By noon we were crossing the Tennessee border and wide lake Barkley was narrowing into the Cumberland river. With the more narrow river the current on our nose was really slowing us down and I took the engines up to 1800 rpm's just to stay above 7 mph. It was another day in the 90's but no rain in sight and the river was very scenic along the way. The crew enjoyed some time in the sun and tunes on Radio Margaritaville.

Can you guess the tune?

It was a slow but uneventful trip to Clarksville TN and we were tied up to a very nice marina by 5. The staff here is some of the best we have seen.

Clarksville Marina.

 We took a cab into town for dinner at the Black Horse. Dinner was fantastic and well worth the trip if your ever down that way. Back at the boat we were treated to a nice light show from some distant storms. Little did we know we would pay for it tomorrow.

We were underway at 0830 Tuesday for a shorter day, mileage wise, to Nashville with one lock. After about an hour a fishing boat heading down river stopped to tell us there was some debris up ahead, very nice. We had seen some pretty big drift along the way so we weren't too concerned. Well, about an hour later we were greeted by a wall of debris going from bank to bank and lasting about 2 miles. We had to idle along and pick our way through everything from logs to full size trees. Sorry, no pics since all hands were busy on deck. Once through we were about a mile from Cheatham lock which was open and waiting. The storms must have washed out a pretty big creek.

Above the dam the current was still very strong but the drift was less. About an hour from Nashville we hit the tail end of a storm that hit town pretty hard and closed the airport for 2 hours. We had more wind than rain and ran into a tow and barges that had been blown sideways across the river. Had to slow down till he got it under control.

Happy Crew.

Happy Captain.

The city docks in Nashville are right at the foot of Broadway. A great place to explore this fun city. We were tied up about 6 and cracked a few cold ones before heading into town. 

Great Location.

The dock is under a walking bridge and we were told there can be problems with people throwing things on boats but we had no issues. There is a sculpture across the river that looks like a broken roller coaster...not sure what it's supposed to be.

Broadway and the roller coaster.

So there is the first leg of the trip. I have noticed that the track log is now working. It's on the right of the page if you're interested. Stay tuned for the next, less exciting, episode.

They call me Peter Pan.