I gotta crow!

View from the starboard bow

I haven't found many ways in my life to create beauty - something that I can work on, stand back when I'm finished and see something that isn't just nice - it is beautiful.

Doing the brightwork on Ayala is one of those experiences. I'm a long way from being done - probably a little over 1/3 of the way. The starboard side of the boat is looking pretty good with 4 coats of varnish on everything you see and 5 on a few others.




This is how she looked the day
I closed the deal to buy her

Understand - I thought she was beautiful just as she was when I bought her. I love a lot of wood on a boat. At the same time, I could imagine what she would look like with some TLC. The brightwork is the place where it shows most dramatically. So that's where I started.




Here she is today











Some of the individual pieces...



Skylight frame



Forward hatch
The butterfly hatch for the skylight is in the background

Forward hatch - close up



I am heading back to Sacramento for a few days, then I start on the port side. It is mostly sanded and ready for varnish. It will take a full day just to finish sanding and to tape before I can start.

 

So far, I have about two weeks of working for 4 -6 hours/day and it is worth every bit of it. I'm eager to get back to it!