Our trusty longboat Townshend came out of the water this week for her annual maintenance. We had mixed feelings about it- we all missed being on the water, but were excited to care for our boat.
After reviewing shop safety and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), we broke into teams. Then we headed down to the boat shop in our pairs. We worked on sanding and prepping varnish, down rigging the sails and scuffing the yards, sanding the hull, and sanding the sole boards. It was hard and dusty work but we were focused and careful.
For break time we headed outside and ate our snack on the beach. We shared a moment of silence and appreciated this place where we live- otters were swimming in front of us while paddle boarders and rowers took advantage of the calm winter day.
We finished our work after snack and then headed up to the classroom to end our day. For reflection, we rated ourselves from 1-5 on how well we did our job and explained why we earned that rating. Most of us gave ourselves and 4 or 5, with many students hesitant to give themselves a 5 since they were working on new tasks. Next week we will take on more of the care of this special boat!
