Never Done... (Chapter Four)

I like doing this and apparently there are others enjoying it as well (based on the number of recent visitors)... Regardless, time marches on and my parents have located "Firebird" in Ft. Lauderdale... She was one of the boats Dad had considered while we were in the Virgin Islands (she was being chartered out of St. Thomas at the time), but he felt she would not be large enough to accommodate the family, nor the dream...

The house in Coral Gables sold quickly. The purchase of "Firebird" happened with as much speed, as did the surveyor's report after his inspection... She needed some major work and after the survey the price went down considerably... My parents always enjoyed a challenge and believed in the "fixer-upper" motto... They could make it better...

This is where time takes a twist. It seemed like years that we were at Summerfield's Boat Works, in Ft. Lauderdale. Yet I think it happened in a much shorter time frame. Firebird needed some major work. She needed a new stem and forefoot (those core structural elements in the front or bow of a boat); additionally there were many ribs that had rotted with time that needed to be replaced or "sistered". There was also decking (although teak, which can last forever) that needed re-fastening and re-caulking. Not to mention a lot of painting and "stripping" and varnishing that needed to be done, including the 65' and 55' masts and 30' and 40' booms, made of spruce that needed refinishing...

Our months at Summerfield's were quite educational in more ways than one. We learned basic carpentry skills, we learned basic electrical skills, we learned mechanical skills, and we learned how to paint and varnish without brush-stokes (insisted by Mom, the ever practicing perfectionist)...

I also learned something more. I learned that I was not the only male in the universe that liked men... Now, I know I have never been so blunt here in my writings, but it was in those months in my 13th year, that I realized I was not the only freak, misfit, or abnormal one on the planet. I certainly didn't learn how to be gay from Frank (and yes, there are people in my life that will know who that is), but what I did learn was that I was not the only one to have these feelings. Frank and I had many a playful tryst while working in the engine room on Firebird...

This is a picture of one of the Malabar racing schooners designed by John Alden:

Firebird was designed quite similarly, but had a Marconi main, rather than a gaff. Her foresail was gaff (and yes you can Google the terms to see what I mean). 

More to come...

Over and "Out" from Portsmouth, VA