Fixing stuff, looking pretty.

Wolf's cabin, all gussied up.

I was going to tell the story of finding Wolf in Salem, MA, and how she was the only boat I couldn't wait to look at a second time...which was how I knew that she was the one for me.

That's a boring story, though (long story short: she was somewhat cheaper than any Cape Dory 28 I'd ever seen, with an owner who'd lost interest and work to be done, and my offer was accepted within an hour).

When I purchased Wolf she needed substantial cosmetic work, mostly involving the subtle application of bleach, masking tape, varnish, and paint. Lot's of 'em, too.

I'm not a big fan of varnishing teak, probably because I'd rather be sailing or napping on the bow instead of applying another coat of varnish. Like my friend Mike says "Nobody has to strip varnish, it falls off all on it's own." Wolf's teak already had varnish on it, though, and since I'd found the empty can down below I knew the brand and shade (Cetol Marine Teak, to be precise), and it was a helluva lot easier to apply another coat than strip every last inch of teak and hope for the best. It actually became *three* coats of varnish, plus one of clear gloss.

Her topsides had been painted blue years ago and the paint was in terrible shape,both due to age and due to poor craftsmanship. A quart of Interlux Sapphire Blue single-part urethane took care of that.

[Note: if you're repainting topsides and you don't know what type of paint was used the last time the boat was painted pretty much your only choice (for reasons of chemistry) is single-part urethane. Unless, that is, you're willing to sand her down to bare fiberglass...]

She's looking pretty good now:

Wolf after having her topsides painted and teak varnished.