Captain said "Bring out your Tar!" and we did.

Not only tar, but also varnish, paint, caulking, mother’s polish, hot water and elbow grease… all necessary ingredients in getting the Dark & Stormy ready for another season on the water.

 Most of the boat crew spent a Saturday at the captain’s home with all the above and more to do just that, ready the boat for the 2011 season.
Jen Parillo took some pictures to share of the day.

Starting with pieces removable from the boat, the duckboards, rudder and dagger board all were refreshed with varnish and paint. Luckily we had a nice sunny day in the 60s which helped all the pieces dry in record time. Cleats were removed, repaired and reattached.

Some customized nooks and crannies to help our gunner were repaired and replaced. Aftercleaning and vacuuming up debris we painted the inside of the Dark & Stormy so she’s looking good for the summer.

A short break for lunch and we were back for the next tasks at Hand. We had to lift the boat up to work on the hull. We’ve learned a few things over the years, so this time it was much easier. We had braces ready and used some modern equipment for the lifting. Out came the tar & paint. Since we all wouldn’t all be able to work on the boat bottom together, we split up to work on other projects.

A new set of sweeps needed to be done to replace the ones we broke last year. So it was at this point Tim began sanding and then drawing the oar pattern on the boards we had readied the night before. The gunnels got a new coat of varnish and the sides of the boat bottom got some freshening up as well.

Brendan and I started by cleaning the swivel gun, a one inch bore that really should have been cleaned up before the winter started.. I decided to put a little Mother’s polish on the gun, to clean it up a tad… and while talking for a hour or two, managed to get Precious bright and shiny. Jp and Jamie also whipped a new anchor line in place.

Kathy, Jen and Sue gathered the goods to put on a great feast for us all. It was a lovely way to end a hardworking day. While we accomplished much, the Caulking of the sides, oar-making and a few little tasks still need some attention. However the Dark & Stormy is well on its way to being ready for our summer. I believe we’ll have the boat at The Fort at Number 4 the first weekend of June for some  fun. Come out and see us.