Queen of the Parade

Paul says this year we should put Jeff in the Memorial Day Parade.  Which should be a hoot, since here the parade goes through the village, which consists of three streets, and people just march in it. Or run in it, or walk,  It’s pretty laid back.  I think there’s a fire truck.  And of course the Historical Society marches, so that’s why Paul wanted JB.  Bruce will pull it on the trailer.  It'll be festooned with bunting, I’ll bet.  Apparently Jeff Brown’s done the parade route before. But everyone who is not walking in the parade will be sitting in their lawn chairs at much closer than my “10-foot paint job” of last year. But there’s only a week to go and things have been slow with all the rain every weekend. 

Last week I tackled the bronze rubrail.

And for those of you who think that you can shine bronze, think again.  I tried everything: vinegar, salt, flour, ketchup, then back to straight vinegar, and while it got off a bit of the goo with a good scrubbing from bronze wool, it was right back again the next day, minus the green bits, which was what I really wanted to get off. 

Now, this year I have two tricks up my sleeve in re: Fooling the Public. One is the bizarre paint I got from the same hardware store guy who threw the bronze wool across the store when I asked him why it was better than steel wool if it was heavier grade.  He’s a bit of a drama queen.  But I told him what happened last year with the gold leaf that I used on the wood rubrail (turned to crap overnight, even after I varnished it) and he led me to an odd little item by Rustoleum called “hammered gold” which he used on his lawn furniture. Now, it turns out that when applied, the mottled patina of this paint almost matches the nasty-ass job I did on the bronze rubrail.

So I was so darned pleased with myself I painted the lower part of the bronze chainplates that hold the shrouds tight (they’d always been painted to match their topside color) plus the whatsis at the bow that holds the bowsprit on.
 

Should I look up what that term is?

Sigh.

Be right back.

Well, the closest I can find is a blog called “First Time Wooden Boat Builder—Sames Sound 12 1/2” by a guy named Paul in Ireland who is building a sailboat and he put in an eye bolt so he could pull the boat onto a trailer. You can see his fancy whatsis here.

But my whatsis does not hold the boat to the trailer, it is more like the stem chainplate for the . . . um . . . whisker shrouds? I think that's it. The bronze wires that attach to the bowsprit. Yup, I'm going for that.
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This year, I fear that Jeff Brown will look like the maritime equivalent of a drag queen.

Line drawings, information, and my thoughts on bronze

Rain today, so not much work.  Yesterday I finished sanding the topsides, and re-fastened the bronze rubrail, so if it ever stops raining it's time to paint.  Soooo much easier than last year!  Dane stopped by to announce that he was on coat #3 of varnish on the bowsprit, and the mast was not far behind.  While it was just drizzling, and to stay warm, I got out the heat gun and took the paint off the bronze thingamabobs that hold the shrouds that hold the mast steady.  Hey, I’m amazed I got the term “shrouds” right. I’ll post a photo when I shine ’em up.  Chainplates, that’s what they are. I also want to do the round gizmo that holds the tiller in place.  It's got a lot of paint on it though. I know the bronze will tarnish right back up as soon as I'm done, but a nice, even patina is better than a paint-spattered, lumpy patina.

Here’s a little info on Jeff Brown (the original), from documents at the Noank Historical Society (actually I think it's Howard Chapelle's book).

 

As you can see from the line drawing, the cockpit has the curve facing the bow.  Uncle Jack always maintained that the drawing was backwards, and he made this Jeff Brown with the curve facing the stern, for ease of using the tiller.  It actually makes a lot more sense that way.

Also, our Jeffie's bowsprit does not curve down like the one in the drawing. 

Here’s the text (ignore the first paragraph):