From Sap to Planks

Good morning everyone. We hope you folks had a nice a week as we did. The sun has really been working hard to bring spring to New England. The sap has been rising in the trees and we chose this weekend to tap the maples. We only have 20 taps out at the moment but if the weather holds as predicted we will be boiling very soon. 24 hours after tapping Sawyer and I hauled in 20 gallons of sap just yesterday. The first run of sap usually makes the fancy syrup so I think our timing is just right. I can taste Mary’s pumpkin pancakes now.

Alex and Jebb have had our harbor yawl boat ‚ÄúChadwick‚Äù in the barn this week. The varnish really needed some work and it is really coming along well. Alex is very good with a varnish brush. My neighbor Glen built a new fuel tank from a recycled stainless steel tank to fit under the towing thwart back aft. It is just perfect and will help Chadwick trim more evenly on her waterline. I will spend some time over the next few days plumbing in the new tank and moving the battery to a new location. Working on the yawl boat in a wood heated barn is a real balancing act. We need the heat to dry the paint but it tends to dry the wood as well. We should get that boat out of the barn in the next few days to make sure the planks don‚Äôt dry out too much. We won‚Äôt do any bottom work until just before we launch sometime in mid-April. It’s amazing how much we rely on trees from sap to planks… there’s alot of beauty that comes from those trees.

And for anyone wanting to know….Chadwick is named after “Major Chadwick”,once a dear friend to all, who always had a kind word, a welcoming phrase of the day, and a warm hug to boot. He continues to give us strength. The following photo is the Major aboard the Mary Day back in the 70’s, just when we were still pups.

Have a great day. Be well. Do good.

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