Serge working on Elise

Photos courtesy of Serge

Serge has been doing some varnishing to make Elise look good and make the woodwork last - she lives in a very corrosive environment which takes its toll on its equipment. Wood is particularly sensitive to the elements: salt, wind, sun, rain, etc.... and need special care. Usually once a year, Elise's exterior wood needs revarnishing. The interior less often, probably once every 4 years or so to make it look good and prevent humidity to infiltrate the wood. Like anything, with good and regular maintenance, boats can last for a very long time. Elise gets a lot of use, so she needs a lot of care...

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Serge also replaced the hiking crew padding :)

Elise got very damp because of the continuous rain, so it did her some good to be able to vent out a little bit. Shiny new varnished interior :) Doesn't she look beautiful?

I'll pain one of Elise's winches cherry-color.

The workshop

Sanded down, before applying the first coat of varnish (special marine varnish - lasts longer under these conditions. Cetoc)

Of course, we prefer this to having her sit on the hard all the time - that's not her purpose in life really...she's meant to go play with the waves and wind...