Although she was built by the owners (Twig and Bonnie), and launched in 2003, she's sailed over 100,000 sea miles, since.
I was stripping my boat a couple weeks ago for winter storage as the owners of HERON docked alongside, were preparing the boat to sail to Bermuda and then on to the Caribbean.
They've done this every early November for the last 15 seasons.
Despite the cold they had just applied (with some thinner), a coat of varnish to the house and a few other quick spots. Yellow jerry cans topped off with diesel are stowed in her big cockpit well for the 15th time.
She doesn't look too worse for the wear and tear that few of our boats - non working, will see in their entire existence.
HERON's days are spent on short 2-4 hour charters with a dozen or more trampling tourists visiting Maine - or the Caribbean - depending upon the season.
Twig tells me he hires a couple varnishers in the caribbean that will sand and apply a maintenance coat on her spruce spars, stepped in the boat, in two days. The spruce spars have never been out of the boat since 2003.
All her varnish, with a yearly maintenance coat added, is all applied over the original coat from 2003. No 'wooding' yet.
A topside coat of paint is applied every year or so (along with bottom paint), either in Maine or the Caribbean,...depends, upon weather and time permitting for one annual haul out.
There's very little time for those 15 haul outs. The HERON often arrives in Maine having sailed from the Caribbean, ties up for the night then takes out her first charter, the next day. No rest for the HERON.
Here she was upon a spring return, one of 15, tied up in the same spot. She likely went to work the next day.
I was in the harbor last week and noticed the HERON was gone. Her window must have opened onto the North Atlantic.
"Wood, varnish, Caribbean winters - Maine summers, that's not possible Bonnie!", I once said, jokingly to HERON's co-owner and operator. She replied with a smile, "I've heard that".
Hard working people with a hard working boat. HERON sailing in Rockport Harbor.
I was stripping my boat a couple weeks ago for winter storage as the owners of HERON docked alongside, were preparing the boat to sail to Bermuda and then on to the Caribbean.
They've done this every early November for the last 15 seasons.
Despite the cold they had just applied (with some thinner), a coat of varnish to the house and a few other quick spots. Yellow jerry cans topped off with diesel are stowed in her big cockpit well for the 15th time.
She doesn't look too worse for the wear and tear that few of our boats - non working, will see in their entire existence.
HERON's days are spent on short 2-4 hour charters with a dozen or more trampling tourists visiting Maine - or the Caribbean - depending upon the season.
Twig tells me he hires a couple varnishers in the caribbean that will sand and apply a maintenance coat on her spruce spars, stepped in the boat, in two days. The spruce spars have never been out of the boat since 2003.
All her varnish, with a yearly maintenance coat added, is all applied over the original coat from 2003. No 'wooding' yet.
A topside coat of paint is applied every year or so (along with bottom paint), either in Maine or the Caribbean,...depends, upon weather and time permitting for one annual haul out.
There's very little time for those 15 haul outs. The HERON often arrives in Maine having sailed from the Caribbean, ties up for the night then takes out her first charter, the next day. No rest for the HERON.
Here she was upon a spring return, one of 15, tied up in the same spot. She likely went to work the next day.
I was in the harbor last week and noticed the HERON was gone. Her window must have opened onto the North Atlantic.
"Wood, varnish, Caribbean winters - Maine summers, that's not possible Bonnie!", I once said, jokingly to HERON's co-owner and operator. She replied with a smile, "I've heard that".
Hard working people with a hard working boat. HERON sailing in Rockport Harbor.
