We’re a D.I.Y Boatyard, You Do It ‘Cause We Won’t...
Purgatory Cove Fish Dock and Marina
Published: Saturday, December 17, 2011 7:00 am
By: Sam, Lefty and Wade, Proprietors
Well, it’s been a slow week here at Purgatory Cove. Sam did manage to sell one of the semi-derelict boats stored here at the Cove. It was one of the houseboats that had been in the back part of the yard for a couple of years. It had a steel hull with wood deck and cabin. The decks were weak; you could bounce up and down on them like a trampoline.
Sam sold it to Clem from down at the Paradise Liquor Store and Taxidermy Shop, you’d a thought word had got around by now. At least Sam was honest and pointed out all the faults, at least most of the major ones. Clem was still gung ho and plunked down his cold, hard cash. He figured he’d take a week or two and fix up the major problems and get her in the water.
Sam must have been feelin’ a bit guilty ‘cause he let Clem keep the boat in the yard for free while he worked on it. Clem gort right to work strippin’ out the rotted wood and takin’ off the deck. Wade and Lefty took to walkin’ by the boat just to see what he was up to.
One day Clem shows up with a pickup load of that green pressure treated wood. There were some 2x4s, 2x6s and some plywood. He took off and, of course, it rained on the wood that day. Soon he was back aboard replacing the rotted deck beams and supports with the 2 bys. Before long he could jump up and down on the new supports without them hardly movin’.
Clem started layin’ down the plywood for the new decks. It had been out in the weather for awhile and was as crooked as a pretzel. He’d nail it down on one side and it would pop up on the other side. He finally resorted to usin’ a couple of them big lag bolts to hold everything down. Wade swore that it actually twisted the hull but Lefty said it was hardly noticeable.
Next day Clem roars up with a pickup load of stuff for the boat. Lefty and Wade meander over to see what was goin’ on. Clem had a couple of five gallon buckets of fiberglass resin he’d found at the grocery and unclaimed freight store. Wade asked what he was up to and Clem said he was about to fiberglass the deck. Lefty piped up and asks what he was going to use with the resin, mat or cloth. Clem allowed as how the fancy boat store wanted too much for the stuff so he was just goin’ to apply the fiberglass resin and let it go at that.
Lefty and Wade decided to hang around and see how this played out. Before they can say anything, Clem dumps the catalyst into the five gallon bucket of resin and stirs it up. Next time Lefty and Wade look, Clem is up on the deck swabbin’ on the resin with what looked like a mop. Now everyone who’s been around boats knows not to mix up too much resin at a time. Sure enough, Clem’s swabbin’ on the resin while the resin bucket is starting to smoke. Next thing Clem knows, the resin hardens while he is in mid stroke. And there the mop stood stood, bolt upright in the middle of the deck. Meanwhile the resin bucket started spouting flame. Wade knocked it off the deck with a stick and kicked in the water. It took Clem a week to chisel off the resin soaked and hardened mop head off of the deck.
Other than that, it’s been a slow week here in Purgatory Cove.
