I Am Dumb And Naive. Thank God!

I like toy boats

I have touched on this subject several times.. and .. well, here I go again. I AM A NOVICE at this classic boating thing. There I said it. The first step is admitting your issues is to your self, right? I am reminded daily of how much I don’t know. In everything really, but really true in the world of Antique & Classic boating. It’s something that is not in a book or researched. It’s the living of it. The thing that time and experience bring. I have had the good fortune to work with true experts and true seasoned pros and man oh man what a huge help.

Fun 24/7

I feel like I am 16 again. Just snotty enough to think I know it all, and just naive enough to step in it from time to time. I just got off the phone with a true pro, we were talking about coats of varnish. Just off the top of his head he mentioned that I should do my 8000 coats and then wait til the final coat… or coats. mmm Why?

Well it shrinks. It’s fresh and it all kinda sinks into the wood and does what we all do as we age.. It shrinks… So wait a month or so… Then do a final coat… Dang that was smart. Is it in the books. no. Is it on line, no. It’s in the head of someone that knows better. That is the moment that I always feel like a 16 year old.

I was 12 in this shot.

I need to remind myself what day it is.

And the moment that I am grateful as all get out to be in such a great community. I am 61 not 16.  And sit in meetings all day. Listening to 20 year olds that don’t own cars and do everything on apps, drink Starbucks coffee by the gallon, and babble on about how to do things better. I am jealous of there spirit and drive to learn. Classic Boating makes me feel dumb and naive.

So thanks to all that think of me that way… Man I need a cup of coffee… Wait, I have an app for that. Or I can just Uber over to Peets Coffee.. KILL ME!  They don’t have varnish coffee.

/15 Comments/by
15 replies
  1. RH In Indy
    RH In Indy says:

    Wow. You are on an early schedule this week!
    When you reach a point that you feel like you’ve been there, done that- you find that there is more to learn. But remember that many learn from you every day.

  3. Mark
    Mark says:

    So having restored my own boat I do feel that I have some knowledge and am happy to share that with others but then I read questions from others and have no idea what to respond as dealing with one model boat is the tip of the iceberg.
    It’s kind of a Jekyll and Hyde or split personality thing. Shutup – no I can talk here.

    Sorry – we had an outburst.

  4. Bilge Rat
    Bilge Rat says:

    Congrats Matt, with age comes wisdom. The challenge now is managing the tipping point before the age causes the wisdom to evaporate.

    We still have many great years of wood boating ahead of us. Millennials can bite it if they don’t agree. Boy, that sounds like an old man.

  5. Tuobanur
    Tuobanur says:

    As I said a while back in an article I posted on the BoatBuzz “The Building of Miss Dot”, when I started I knew nothing and now only a bit more. Without the help of this group and others I would not have ever finished my project.
    So I got to put on another coat??????? Damnit…

  8. Mike Green
    Mike Green says:

    If weather permits after about 10 coats of varnish we’ll roll the boat outside and let her bake in the sun. It really helps let the thinners evaporate out and that is what sets the varnish. It warms the varnish up outside and then when we bring it back in it cools off and the varnish hardens. We also do it again if we can before the last 4 coats. Less shrinkage is the key…to a lot of things in life I guess.

  9. tparsons56
    tparsons56 says:

    That fact that we don’t know everything keeps us motivated to move forward and learn [we are never too old for that]. Being able to identity, research and solve a problem is a great feeling!

    You really need to bring back the “sand, varnish” t-shirts. How many coats of varnish is by far the number one question I get with the exception being the time I was asked what material my 1941 Custom was made of. Really had to keep a straight face that day.

  11. m-fine
    m-fine says:

    Kill you? No please kill me! I am about to go into a two hour meeting…with accounting. With no mental recovery boating for 6 months. Proof that there are fates worse than death.

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