New Look For Over Easy

My second trip up the M6 this year to Fyne Boat Kits at Windermere was tinged with a little apprehension. What sort of a job would Hugh have made of re-decking Over Easy ? Replacing decks is never as straight forward as building new.

We arrived at Bowness late on Sunday 14 April. On Monday morning I left Lyn at the hotel and drove down to Fyne's boathouse. I was met outside by Hugh's brother Paul. He was sanding down a Mirror dinghy and appeared out of a blizzard of dust.

Paul explained that the dinghy was painted with a special, and very expensive, coating. It was rather like a paint mixed with a lot of talcum powder. It was pretty thick and sanded down to a near perfect finish. The downside appeared to be that to achieve this at least 75% of the coating was sanded off creating absolute clouds of choking dust. Strange thing is that Paul hates Mirror's, but I guess business is business !

Over Easy was inside the boathouse under the end window that looked out over the lake. She looked great. The new arrowhead decks were blond compared with the darker mahogany coloured interior. The contrast was pleasing and I was glad that Hugh hadn't stained the decks down. The surfaces were clear with only the port & starboard stay plates protruding through the decking. I resolved there and then to only put back those deck fittings absolutely necessary.

My thoughts were interrupted by two RAF Tornado jets hurtling past the window about thirty feet above the lake. Hugh and Paul didn't bat an eyelid, apparently this was an every day occurrence that had long since lost its novelty value.

The new decking had been epoxy coated inside and out and then finished with three coats of two pot varnish. Hugh pointed out that while the top was off he had made a couple of minor interior repairs concerning the interior transom pintle plates and the decking supports. The rest, he said, was in good condition given that the dinghy is over thirty years old. A game old bird with the young heart of a SigneT !

Later, back at the hotel, Lyn said she'd been shopping and that a local art gallery would be delivering a picture at 6:00pm. She explained it was a little to big to carry. An understatement if ever I heard one, it turned out to be over three feet square !

We towed Over Easy back down south on Tuesday the 16th and on Wednesday morning she went straight into the garage, which had been hastily converted into a temporary boathouse, for the interior and bottom to be stripped and repainted/varnished.!

Keith supplied a good idea which you might try sometime. I rigged two webbing ratchet straps from eyebolts set in the garage walls. These passed under the dinghy and raised her up off the launching trolley. She could then be easily rolled in the straps to any position required for work to be done. Simple and easy, nice one Keith !

To create the right conditions for varnishing (i.e. to overcome the cold and wet outside) I sealed the garage door with duck tape and set a fan heater working full time. Varnishing is now well advanced and I'm beginning to think about what fittings to put back and then getting Over Easy back in the wet stuff where she belongs.

Mike (Up to my eyebrows in epoxy resin) Baker