I’m really more of a lurker than a poster but I thought I would share what I received yesterday from my wife as an early birthday present.
I am currently building (real-ly slowl-ly) a Penobscot 14. What this experience has taught me so far is that I must have been delusional to think my woodworking skills were as good as I thought they were. I had completed a few small pieces of furniture and I think I was feeling a little cocky. As I was driving home yesterday I thought it might be humorous to breakdown and post a little blurb here from the perspective of someone who is not turning out one of these fabulous show pieces that are normally posted here, but something that upon ones closer inspection, one might turn their head and wince in a “that must of hurt” sort of grimace.
Now don’t misunderstand me, I’m not frustrated or annoyed by my lack of ability. Actually I feel quite the opposite. I think it’s kind of funny and I’m finding the whole experience incredibly enjoyable. It’s been a great learning experience and I’m happy to be attempting something that I have thought about doing for years….building my own small wood sailboat.
I also think it’s only fair to point out that this is not one of those ”oh, I’m such a wood butcher” posts that is shortly followed with a slew of photos of a craft whose finish is just short of The Presidential Yacht Sequoia and then standing back to reap the praise that follows....trust me it’s bad! To say that there will be no bright work on the finished product is an understatement (and to think I originally had posted here claiming that I wanted to build a boat that would be finished completely bright when searching for the type boat to build.) If I ever overcome the twin evils of procrastination and lack of skill to finish this Penobscot 14, trust me it will be hard to make out the hull for all the epoxy and paint covered mistakes.
So what does this have to do with my early birthday present? Well, after driving home laughing to myself about all the foibles and follies of my project that I was going to post when I came in to work today, I was met by my wife with a gift wrapped envelope. She said that she thought that it might possibly be the best present she has ever given me and to go ahead and open it. Imagine my shock to open it and see a home made coupon for an all expense paid week long trip to The Woodenboat School in Maine!
I was completely taken by surprise as I didn’t even know she knew they had a school there. She had been surfing on the WB site because she has seen how much I've been enjoying my excruciatingly slow project and she thought there might be something I would like on the site. When she saw the school she called up and spoke to Kim who, with the help of others at WB, discussed my current project and which of the classes I could benefit from most. It was decided that the June 5th, Building the Dory Skiff class would fit my time schedule and be the most beneficial. She called my boss and arranged for my time off and booked my flights.
I called a few friends, my brother and my Mom but I don’t think they quite understood the greatness of this gift….so hence I’m posting here!
Watch out Maine, hide the sharp tools………
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