Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Fun Times with a Heat Gun


I had been feeling a little guilty about all the beach goodness I was having while Vlad was slaving away in Houston, so I thought I'd tackle one of our many boat projects. The varnish had started peeling off Bettie's teak before we left Kemah, but we thought it would be one of those fun maintenance items to do while cruising, not to mention the fact that we had a million other more pressing projects to finish before we left.

And finally, almost five months later, I have started scraping off all of Bettie's old outside varnish. Besides the fact that my back now hurts, it was a strangely cathartic activity - holding the heat gun near the wood, scraping the heated varnish off in short strips all while trying to not bubble up the paint or myself. Surprisingly fun stuff. I finished the cockpit and half a hatch, and all that's left is the other hatch and the companionway. Thankfully, Bettie doesn't have a ton of teak because cathartic as it is varnish work is also backbreaking and sweaty labor. The bright side to all that sweat and the backache is the fact that it gives you a pretty decent excuse, I think, to go back to the beach.


And that's just what I did.

2 comments:

  1. LOL. I thought you said "Glue Gun" in your title. I was like ohh, what can be done with a glue gun on the boat? But then I realized you said Heat Gun.

    I actually love tedious little projects like that when they make such a big difference in appearance. Plus since many things on this boat require Tate's help, it's nice having something I can do all on my own.

    Provides a sense of accomplishment!

    You and Vlad are a great team<3

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    Replies
    1. Nope, not a glue gun! And, yes, we are a great team. He walks all over Houston in August while I sneak away from working to go to the beach.

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