We might not have been on Pixie this weekend, but that doesn't mean there hasn't been work to do. With the cold weather of the past few months Pixie's nicely varnished tiller had started looking dejected. The tiller is a length of wood that we use to steer Pixie, it's our connection to her. With her tiller in my hand and Kirsty by my side, I'm as happy as happy can be.
But with the cold weather water ha seeped under the varnish coating on the tiller, then frozen, opening the gap wider, more water got in and froze and the whole process starts ove again. The result is a loose unsightly blister under the varnish while the water gets into the wood it turns is black. Not good.
So that was what I was doing this weekend, stripping the old varnish off and sanding down the tiller. Initially I thought the tiller was made of a golden wood like ash or oak, while it was the colour of pine, I knew it wouldn't be a softwood, even though it was the spitting image.
So it came as quite a surprise when I started removing the fittings to find the rich dark colour of teak underneath it. I then had a yellow tiller with a few dark patches and discolouration where the water had been. I started to sand back the water damage, and before long the freshly sanded wood was the colour of fresh teak. But the rest was still yellow, so it was out with the coarse sandpaper to take the whole tiller to bare, fresh wood.
As I mentioned earlier the tiller is our connection to Pixie, sanding it down seemed to strengthen the bond between us. My thoughts wandered, thinking about the place we've sailed, the weather we've had, and our future destinations. The hours drifted by until I was happy with the finish.
Sunday was spent sanding down the tiller a bit more, to get rid of any marks and to make it really smooth. After sucking off the dust with the vacuum cleaner, I started varnish it to seal the wood, and keep that pesky water out.
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