Sunday April 10 started cold and overcast, perfect weather to prepare the splashrail on the M-16 for its first coat of varnish in who knows how long.  Karen and I obtained this boat in Ithaca, NY on a nostalgic whim and a hunch that we might find a sport that brought us together more often.

The M-16 scow is a one-design sloop, penned as a trainer for couples and young sailors who might move up to race the bigger more powerful scows.  The class remains a stalwart on the midwestern racing scene and enjoys a big fan base on the southern New Jersey Shore.  What holds me to the boat is its performance up wind and the wide sweet spot that any sailor can find and exploit.  To sail an M-16 is the best way to appreciate how this craft will heel up and settle there, creating a canoe-like waterline that moves the hull quickly up wind.

At the time of this boat’s making, Johnson Boat Works was operated by the third generation of Johnsons…all of whom were descended from J.O. Johnson, inventor of the original racing scow.  His first racing scow was a 38-footer, planked with white cedar, called the Minnezitka, which plied the same lake water in the late 1890s.  Most sailors are quite surprised by the age of the inland scow racer, perhaps because the design is so forward looking.

So, it seemed a tribute to this particular scow and its heritage that we were sanding the splash rail that was installed in 1974 by Johnson Boat Works in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.

Carefully working to a finer grit,  from 100 to 220, we gave the reddish mohogany a proper finish.  We wiped down the dust and stirred up the spar varnish.  This rail will get many more coats in 2011 as we build up a water-resistant coating.  But this first application was special.  I watched as Karen carefully brushed on a thin film.   Then, we stepped back to admire the beauty of the wood.   A wonderful hue, dark and red, was brought up by the tender care.

We packed up the brushes and decided it would be a good afternoon to sail the bigger scow, the I-20.    A southerly was beginning to twitch the telltales like darting minnows.   We sailed the boat down to Wilson Bridge in front of Old Town Alexandria.  Up went  the spinnaker as we headed back north, hitting 6 knots at one point.

It was a beautiful reward for the work we put into the older boat.

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