Steve Sanford
Well-known member
All~
Perhaps this post should be in Work Bench - but I thought I'd give a bit of back story along with this recent "chore" - accomplished recently in the midst of several duckboat restorations.
American architect Louis Sullivan long ago stated a fundamental rule of good design:
“It is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic, of all things physical and metaphysical, of all things human and all things superhuman, that form ever follows function. This is the law”
Those of you who have followed me over the years may have gleaned two of my pervading "traits".
1. In everything I make in the pursuit of waterfowl, I try to combine a bit of aesthetics with truly practical functionality.
2. A sleeping duck is one of the most beautiful forms in nature.
With those two concepts in mind, I have infused the sleeping duck into numerous "appurtenances" on gunning vessels and elsewhere. The first - in 2010 - was this bow handle on my 13-foot decked-over canoe SWEET GHERKIN. The bill-tucked-onto-cape posture avoids any injury-prone shapes - and the side pocket shape fits a even a gloved hand quite naturally and comfortably.
The earliest bow handles were painted the same as the boat itself. This is WHITE-WING - a 2-man "Scooter" that built from a cut-down O'Day Daysailer hull....
My Barnegat Bay Sneakbox RED-LEG was finished "bright" - with varnish - because the ribbon-grain Mahogany was just too gorgeous to hide with paint.
This sign is for our family camp on Lake Champlain.
Back in 2015 bayman and duck guide Red Oster - out of West Sayville on Long Island - asked for a pair of grab rails for his "mother ship" - which, along with a stool boat and 2-man scooter pursued Broadbill and other divers on Great South Bay. Red's outfit was one of the last of the "big rigs" - which were so common on the Bay during much of the 20th century.
After gathering a couple of key dimensions I carved a mock-up - or "proof-of-concept" as they say nowadays - from White Pine.
Then I found some 5/4 Mahogany and carved and sanded and burned with greater care.
I decided that this species demanded a "mixed media" approach - so added a few key bits of paint to work with - I hoped - the otherwise bright finish.
The Hen needed some white for her face mask/mustache as well.
After 3 coats of varnish they were ready to install next time I got down to Long Island.
Lag-bolted from below and set in 3M 5200, they served as secure...well..."grab rails" either side of the companionway.
In recent years, Red has abandoned the Atlantic Tidewater - for Upstate New York. The mother ship is now in new hands. The current owners asked me to rehab the worn-but-not-worn-out rails in time for the 2024-25 season. Unfortunately, I did not photograph them in the "received/before" condition back in March.
This photo shows them after varnish had been stripped, everything sanded with 220-grit, new paint applied, and 2 coats of oil-based stain ( Minwax Gunstock) were soaked on.
Making sure that old varnish would not affect the final tones required careful attention and extra effort.
The paints are the same Behr latex I use of gunning decoys.
I have applied varnish over flat paints since my long ago youth. The result is similar to modern car finishes where it is the uppermost "clear coat" that provides the luster - and not the paint itself. Here they are after 3 coats of varnish - and ready-to-hunt.
I have advised the owner to add a coat of varnish each year to avoid major restoration in the future - but have offered to take them back if necessary in 2035 or so....
All the best,
SJS
Perhaps this post should be in Work Bench - but I thought I'd give a bit of back story along with this recent "chore" - accomplished recently in the midst of several duckboat restorations.
American architect Louis Sullivan long ago stated a fundamental rule of good design:
“It is the pervading law of all things organic and inorganic, of all things physical and metaphysical, of all things human and all things superhuman, that form ever follows function. This is the law”
Those of you who have followed me over the years may have gleaned two of my pervading "traits".
1. In everything I make in the pursuit of waterfowl, I try to combine a bit of aesthetics with truly practical functionality.
2. A sleeping duck is one of the most beautiful forms in nature.
With those two concepts in mind, I have infused the sleeping duck into numerous "appurtenances" on gunning vessels and elsewhere. The first - in 2010 - was this bow handle on my 13-foot decked-over canoe SWEET GHERKIN. The bill-tucked-onto-cape posture avoids any injury-prone shapes - and the side pocket shape fits a even a gloved hand quite naturally and comfortably.
The earliest bow handles were painted the same as the boat itself. This is WHITE-WING - a 2-man "Scooter" that built from a cut-down O'Day Daysailer hull....
My Barnegat Bay Sneakbox RED-LEG was finished "bright" - with varnish - because the ribbon-grain Mahogany was just too gorgeous to hide with paint.
This sign is for our family camp on Lake Champlain.
Back in 2015 bayman and duck guide Red Oster - out of West Sayville on Long Island - asked for a pair of grab rails for his "mother ship" - which, along with a stool boat and 2-man scooter pursued Broadbill and other divers on Great South Bay. Red's outfit was one of the last of the "big rigs" - which were so common on the Bay during much of the 20th century.
After gathering a couple of key dimensions I carved a mock-up - or "proof-of-concept" as they say nowadays - from White Pine.
Then I found some 5/4 Mahogany and carved and sanded and burned with greater care.
I decided that this species demanded a "mixed media" approach - so added a few key bits of paint to work with - I hoped - the otherwise bright finish.
The Hen needed some white for her face mask/mustache as well.
After 3 coats of varnish they were ready to install next time I got down to Long Island.
Lag-bolted from below and set in 3M 5200, they served as secure...well..."grab rails" either side of the companionway.
In recent years, Red has abandoned the Atlantic Tidewater - for Upstate New York. The mother ship is now in new hands. The current owners asked me to rehab the worn-but-not-worn-out rails in time for the 2024-25 season. Unfortunately, I did not photograph them in the "received/before" condition back in March.
This photo shows them after varnish had been stripped, everything sanded with 220-grit, new paint applied, and 2 coats of oil-based stain ( Minwax Gunstock) were soaked on.
Making sure that old varnish would not affect the final tones required careful attention and extra effort.
The paints are the same Behr latex I use of gunning decoys.
I have applied varnish over flat paints since my long ago youth. The result is similar to modern car finishes where it is the uppermost "clear coat" that provides the luster - and not the paint itself. Here they are after 3 coats of varnish - and ready-to-hunt.
I have advised the owner to add a coat of varnish each year to avoid major restoration in the future - but have offered to take them back if necessary in 2035 or so....
All the best,
SJS
