14 Apr 24: We started our blog in January 2013 with a purpose "...to share information on small boat restoration, sailing and maintenance." This is our vehicle to pay forward what others have shared with us. A little over 2000 posts later we passed the One Million Views mark!  Views started to rise during the pandemic, and took a big jump in 2023. It has been fun to have viewers from around the globe, and although a good number of them are bots, many are real human beings who have reached out to us to exchange knowledge. We've been happy to help with technical knowledge on boat builds i ..read more

13 Apr 24: The first photo is of our shop's light switch. The switch has a motion sensor on/off option, which can be fine tuned to function any time of day or only when it is dark. There is a sensitivity switch and also a vacancy timer which will turn off the lights as soon as we stop moving around, or after 1, 5 or 30 minutes.  I thought a motion detector light switch would be handy for when I had my hands full entering the shop, and to turn lights off for a while if we leave the shop and get pressed into service on some other project. The switch has been a very welcome addition. Fine ..read more

12 Apr 24: The spots where we put our LEWIS BOAT WORKS and HEUER GARAGE EAST sheds started off as a muddy clay spot, too shady to grow much grass. Over the last few days we added a small deck to the back end of the HEUER GARAGE EAST, and a walkway between the two sheds.  Skipper is slowly assembling her gardening center. And maybe I'll get motivated to finish framing the vent window we added to the shed in 2023. Right now I'm busy resisting the urge to add and unneeded and expensive door. Log of the Carriage Houses/Boat Works/Heuer Garage ..read more

11 Apr 24: We scraped and sanded 3 more frame sections and the inner port transom of HENING, the little Abaco dinghy. Next we'll roll the boat to starboard and work on that side. We're also working on a bronze order to replace some tired fittings. They screw eye on the quarter knee snapped loose in my hand when I went to remove the nut. We're not sure what the bolt mid transom was for, possibly a lifting eye or maybe just a fastener for the knee inside. Lots of fun working in all the nooks and crannies.  Log of HENNING ..read more

10 Apr 24: We made a small bench out of cedar, set at about 18 inches for a good sitting height. It will be used in a shower, the cedar should smell great with a little hot water splashed on it. I laid out the templates...for the shop stool...To make a bench I needed taller legs, which I remembered when I got to the assembly stage of construction. Still haven't recognized the short legs... To make bench height legs, I use the stool leg template to get the legs' top and bottom widths, then a straightedge to draw the sides. All the other pieces remain the same. We fastened the pieces toge ..read more

31 Mar 24: This 1964 Sunfish hull ended up having not only a soft deck but also the hull is cracked all around the edge of the cockpit. Add in a few other leak areas and the fiberglass is beyond economic repair. So today we removed the hardware, trim, coaming and bailer to be used on other restorations.  Video: Parting Out A Sunfish Hull The coaming is held on by stainless machine screws that screw into aluminum rivet nuts. If the stainless screws are not removed periodically, they become permanently bonded with the rivnut. Out of 13 screws, only one came loose.   ..read more

18 Mar 24: Our little quarterdeck has been a popular place to enjoy the back yard park and playset. We can roll boats all the way through from the driveway or bring them around from the side. A meandering rock river may run under the bridge soon ..read more

17 Mar 24: Well the Mustang came back from the shop faster than we thought, so the Catfish SMEDLEY moved back out to the Wheel Deck hoist. It is warm enough to do fiberglass work outside now, and we have more yard time scheduled. Skipper did the tractor honors ..read more

18 Mar 24: The Boat Yard, Park and Sunfish Shack are ready for the 2024 season. It's taken a few projects to get to this point ..read more

11 Mar 24: AMERICAN STAR is a 27' 3" Four-Oared Gig built in 1820 by the Chambers Brothers of Brooklyn in the "Whitehall" style, as in Whitehall Street of lower Manhattan. We ordered plans from Mystic Seaport that were developed from lines taken off the original boat, which is located outside of Paris at the estate of General Lafayette.   AMERICAN STAR was given to the Marquis in 1825 as he finished his victory tour of the the young United States..all 24 of them ..read more