One of the reasons I stripped out Spark was because her trunk was leaking. After pulling Twenty-two 3 1/2 bronze screws out of her bottom, the Trunk all but fell out as the Polysulfide sealant had given up on that sealing part.

The Trunk itself also need a small bit of repair and resealing as the four parts easily went to pieces once the screws were removed.

So after resealing everything up, repairing a small bit of rot at the forward end and a lick of varnish, it was time to do the old "installation is opposite of removal" as in so many Haynes manuals.

Nice new bronze screws. Glad I bought twenty-five as I buggered 2 of them.



Yes, I installed them all by hand.



Old nasty Polysulfide sealant. A sharp scraper and a bit of work with the cordless mouse took care of this offensive stuff. To be fair, it did it's job for fifty-five years.



The underside (inside the boat as she is still upside down on the trailer) looks nasty, but the varnish is intact. You are just looking at 30 some odd years of dirt and grime. She will be pressure washed out soon (gently)



And just look at that lovely bit of mahogany. It practically glows in the sunlight. I had to scarf in a bit at the bottom opposite the camera, but as it is forwards against the mast and below the floorboards, nobody will ever notice the difference in colour or the bit if epoxy I used to fill in some of the openings.



This week is paint and next is new decks. The clock is ticking!

There is nothing more beautiful than varnished bright work and polished brass! When I was on the deck force in the Navy I would love to polish all the brass turnbuckles, bells and other brass objects on deck. Everyone thought I was nuts for wanting everything to shine because the next day it would be a mess again, especially out to sea but to me it just reflected something extremely nautical and beautiful.

Beautiful things almost always come with a lot of work but they are worth it! Some skills are needed also.

Are we talking about boats or women here?

Yes, of course.

Always!!!