"DSK" wrote in message
.. .
A general question- what is the most ambitious boat repair or improvement
project you've accomplished?

I'd have to say it was working with my father to recondition his 30' custom
cabin cruiser. It was made by a cabinet-maker in the 1950's, who got the
hull plan from navy drawings. It was a fiberglassed plywood hull. It was a
beautiful boat but the varnished cabin (huge), gunnels, and transom had to
be scraped down to bare wood, then refinished. Same with the decks (except
for the teak deck which remained natural). Same with the hull, scraping
scraping and more scraping. I remember working in the bitterly cold wind off
the Jersey shore. Then we rebuilt the Chrysler marine engine (bad valves). I
had the pleasure, being a flexible 14 year old, of hanging by the
floorboards, upside down, to hand grind and seat the valves. There were
countless upgrading projects inside. My dad, being a navy man, insisted that
all the brass shine, whether it be at the helm or in the head (my job), and
that we have a proper, water proof - wind up - navy clock mounted at the
helm. It took us a year to get it all done.
My dad came close to being fanatical about the boat. My brother and I still
laugh about the time when I was climbing the ladder (dry docked) from ground
to the top of the transom (about 15' high). My foot slipped as clumsy 14
year old feet sometimes do, and my leg went through the ladder, I fell back
and was hanging upside down (again) by my bent knee, when the ladder started
to slide over the slick new varnished surface. I thought my leg was broken
and figured I was gonna die when the whole mess hit the ground. I could hear
my dad, running from the boatyard office yelling "you're scratching my god
damned varnish!"
When dad got sick he sold the boat to an ex-professional wrestler; a big fat
slob who abused, neglected, and finally sunk our beautiful boat.
Scout