The Great Sponge Boat Caper

It was mid-February when we found the abandoned dinghy on the beach. Jeff had a sneaking suspicion as to who owned the wayward boat and a quick peak inside along with the FL numbers confirmed that suspicion. After bailing out the nasty water and towing it back to the harbor, Jeff called the owner, a former harbor resident who hasn't been seen in these parts for awhile, and asked him what he wanted to do with the boat. He replied that that particular boat had been an albatross around his neck and that if Jeff wanted it, he could have it. He dropped the title in the mail the next day and ownership was transferred. But oh, my! What a project to take on!
The first chore was pulling it back to the beach...the very same one that we rescued it from amidst a swarm of no-see-ums...to clean the bottom. Then it was back to the marina to pull it out of the water using the lifting davit. We tucked it into the garage and the next day borrowed a pick-up truck to get it to the carport that friends Matt and Kendra were gracious enough to let us use. In fact, it was Matt who believed the boat to be an old sponge boat judging by some of it's features.
The first step in the restoration was quite easy. All we had to do was let it sit and dry out.
But nothing was easy after that!
Jeff proved himself to be quite the jack-of-all-trades as he first played carpenter and removed the old stringers and the bow locker, all the while hoping the boat didn't collapse in on itself. Then he became a boat builder as he replaced all the stringers, adding new ones as necessary. Next, he was the body repair expert with endless hours of filling and sanding, sanding and filling. Then he constructed a floor for the interior and benches to sit on. Shortly after came the skilled fiberglass installation.
And more filling and sanding.
And then some vacuuming on my part.
And have I mentioned that I really hate fiberglass?
We walked around itchy and scratchy for weeks. I was really glad when that part was over.
Finally, after a complete rebuild on the entire boat, we were able to start the painting process.
Prior to this point, we had deliberated over several paint samples from Home Depot and agreed on a soft turquoise green, a bright, sunny orange, and a luscious lavender paired up with Hatteras white. We sent the samples off to have them made into Signature Finish paint, a 3 part paint made for boats that is supposed to last for 10 years with little or no maintenance. It came highly recommended by several people and we thought we'd try it out.
Our colors came out perfectly matched to the samples we sent and dubbed with names of "Sponge Green", "Sponge Orange", and "Sponge Violet."
We flipped the boat upside down and several coats of Hatteras white went on the hull along with multiple layers of stinky, black bottom paint.
Then we flipped it back over and continued painting. The first bit of color was the "Sponge Green" along the rail, in the bow, and across the transom.
The next day was my turn to do a little painting. I had decided that a sponge boat should be sponge painted and I managed to talk Jeff into it. So while he was at work, I added layer after layer of color on the white hull with an assortment of sea sponges. The first coat was "Sponge Green". Next followed "Sponge Orange" and then "Sponge Violet." I finished it up by sponging the Hatteras white over the entire design and waited for Jeff to arrive.
I was a little nervous about his reaction. He was very fond of the pristine white hull against the green rail but, why have that when you could have a one of a kind paint job? I assured him I had a talent that you could only be born with and it would be alright.
At first glance, he didn't say a word. Which made me more nervous. He mixed himself the prerequisite after-work cocktail and set in to peruse the paint job.
His first comment was a light-hearted, good-humored, "You girl-ed my boat up!"
Well. Maybe a little.
But it looks great, don't you think?
And quite the transformation from floating piece of trash to showboat extraordinaire!
We worked really hard on the boat for several weeks and took very few evenings off because we had a deadline to have it in the water by the time Jeff's mom, Denise, arrived for Mother's Day weekend
On the Friday before the big weekend in question, we recruited 5 full grown men from the marina plus Jeff to lift it on the trailer without scratching the paint. Then Jeff and I finished up the final details of bending the metal on to the rub-rail, grinding off the ends, and installing chalks, cleats, the sampson post, and a bow-eye.
We crawled home some time close to midnight then crawled back the next morning to get it launched.
We got it in the water for it's maiden voyage back to the harbor then tied up to the dinghy docks to switch out cars and return the borrowed trailer.
We had just finished with a quick shower and were relaxing in the shade when Denise called to say she was minutes away.
Perfect timing.
We have since taken the dinghy all throughout the harbor to claps, thumbs-up, and shouts of appreciation. It certainly makes it worth all the hard work to kick back now and admire our new ride.
We're still taking suggestion for names...if you've got a good one please let us know.

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