We're finally finished with our days at the loft. Not to say that I'm happy it's over. It was truly an amazing experience working with Erik T/A Sailmakers. That's Erik in the header if you're wondering who this guy is. We met him through our friend David at the marina.
Dan and I have both learned an incredible amount of information regarding the sailmaking process. In the first few days of our time there, we were pulling out different sails and sizing them. This, with Erik's guiding hand of course, taught us different kinds of sails, the parts of the sail, difference in sizing for boats, and much more. From there we went on to helping him fix sails which allowed us to observe a master at his art. He showed us how to do so many procedures from patching holes, little to big, to sewing on fresh bolt ropes. Erik also showed us how to sew our new cockpit cushions which will invariably come in handy for long passages where our butts would get sore on watches without them.
Erik has helped us in such incredible ways. Not only did he get our sails fixed and teach us useful skills, he was also a great guy. All while being funny and accommodating, he has made this sailing adventure possible. Thank you so much Erik, we owe you so much.
Since our final days with Erik, we've done a few things, including retrieving our newly certified life boat. We had it certified at Avalon Rafts in Wilmington, a pretty cool place to walk into. It's hard to get to, involving a back alley drive and aimless wandering to find. But once you walk in you're greeted by a room full of emergency life boats. These tend to be a rare sight, as people generally only inflate them when the vessel is on the wrong side of the water surface. So to see so many was a treat. I snapped a picture just for you guys.
Hopefully we'll never have to use our cool new package, but if worse comes to worst we'll know we can depend on it.
Today we tackled a few more tasks on our to do list. Dan painted our hard bottom with its first coat of LPU (it's looking shiny). Tomorrow it is due for a light sanding and its second coat. It should turn out preeeetty nice looking. But even cooler than that (sorry dinghy), we put the boat name and hailing port vinyl appliqué on our transom. Now that we have this, we can legally cruise around the waters! Not that anything in the boat is battened down enough to allow for sailing. But it is a step. It wasn't too hard of a procedure. It involved taking the backing off, applying it over a soapy-water-misted surface and then squeeging out the bubbles. Then a final step of pulling off the top, leaving the lettering. Here's a picture of me getting the bubbles out and a final shot of the lettering.
The wonderful logo was designed by my very own, very talented mother. Thanks momma! Well, that's it for now. Tomorrow is another day with many more tasks. Wish us luck!
Dan and I have both learned an incredible amount of information regarding the sailmaking process. In the first few days of our time there, we were pulling out different sails and sizing them. This, with Erik's guiding hand of course, taught us different kinds of sails, the parts of the sail, difference in sizing for boats, and much more. From there we went on to helping him fix sails which allowed us to observe a master at his art. He showed us how to do so many procedures from patching holes, little to big, to sewing on fresh bolt ropes. Erik also showed us how to sew our new cockpit cushions which will invariably come in handy for long passages where our butts would get sore on watches without them.
Erik has helped us in such incredible ways. Not only did he get our sails fixed and teach us useful skills, he was also a great guy. All while being funny and accommodating, he has made this sailing adventure possible. Thank you so much Erik, we owe you so much.
Since our final days with Erik, we've done a few things, including retrieving our newly certified life boat. We had it certified at Avalon Rafts in Wilmington, a pretty cool place to walk into. It's hard to get to, involving a back alley drive and aimless wandering to find. But once you walk in you're greeted by a room full of emergency life boats. These tend to be a rare sight, as people generally only inflate them when the vessel is on the wrong side of the water surface. So to see so many was a treat. I snapped a picture just for you guys.
Hopefully we'll never have to use our cool new package, but if worse comes to worst we'll know we can depend on it.
Today we tackled a few more tasks on our to do list. Dan painted our hard bottom with its first coat of LPU (it's looking shiny). Tomorrow it is due for a light sanding and its second coat. It should turn out preeeetty nice looking. But even cooler than that (sorry dinghy), we put the boat name and hailing port vinyl appliqué on our transom. Now that we have this, we can legally cruise around the waters! Not that anything in the boat is battened down enough to allow for sailing. But it is a step. It wasn't too hard of a procedure. It involved taking the backing off, applying it over a soapy-water-misted surface and then squeeging out the bubbles. Then a final step of pulling off the top, leaving the lettering. Here's a picture of me getting the bubbles out and a final shot of the lettering.
The wonderful logo was designed by my very own, very talented mother. Thanks momma! Well, that's it for now. Tomorrow is another day with many more tasks. Wish us luck!
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