Building Beginners: Episode 8; Rebuilding the Deck
“The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too.” -Vincent van Gogh
Welcome back, sailors! Been ashore a bit too long and now the sea beckons!
In the last episode, I had begun the decking with popsicle sticks and spent far too long sanding. But I had pushed thru until the decking was complete, or so I thought. Apparently, my choice of decking material hadn’t even been fit to be trodden upon…I’m sure I’ll have better jokes…
Every time I had looked at my “finished” deck I was decked with the realization that my deck was far more a house of cards awaiting a fall.
It had become time to reset, to reshuffle this deck into something grander, and far…well, more deck-like.
It was time for a new deck.
But what material to use?
Um, no, but you remember the hard-working bear? Yeah, pretty sore loser during company games at the Erickson Ship Company parties.
Not only was the deck wavy and uneven, but also the planks were disproportionate in size to the rest of the ship. The larger deck boards made the ship seem small and toyish, instead of lifelike.
With my fingers still raw from sanding, I had decided I needed a different approach. Stripping the boards off wouldn’t have done, since part of the problem was the bulkheads had been uneven. So I decided, yet again, to sand the deck.
I sanded the high spots down and opted for my trusted wood glue and sawdust mixture to elevate the low spots. Thankfully, I had no shortage of sawdust.
Wasn’t pretty, but I knew I could do my new favorite thing in the whole world and sand it more to level it out after the glue dried.
I began to feel like the lowest of the low-ranked sailors. Except instead of a mop and bucket I had my foam sanding block and files, toiling and slaving until the deck was ship shape.
I had even filled in some of the smaller gaps along the edges. It probably didn’t need to be done but was nice to add small touches even if most people wouldn’t have ever seen them.
It was at about that point that I felt that I had completely ruined my ship. It wasn’t good looking at all and I had to mentally focus on the end result so as to not be overwhelmed with how things looked in the moment.
Once dry, I sanded again to allow for a smooth transition for the new boards I would soon mount. All the imperfections would be hidden underneath, but keeping the deck level was the most important focus.
I decided on a skinnier stirring stick that worked out very well. It was just over half the width of the popsicle sticks but had made the side planks of the ship look larger and more proportionate with a real ship. Instead of the sides, I began this time in the middle and decided to work my way towards the sides. The imperfections and gaps could easily be hidden along the sides later on.
I mixed and matched the lengths of boards for a more natural look and weighed down the glued boards until they dried into position. Some boards were slightly curved or didn’t want to stay perfectly aligned so I used whatever I could to press them together. I had even wedged a pencil along a bulkhead to press a board to the side. What was nice was even if there was a gap underneath parts of the board where the deck “dipped” it could easily be covered and the “rippling deck” look had soon begun to disappear.
This time I had met my progress with a feeling of growing excitement, instead of impending doom. Looking back, it wouldn’t have matter what board I went with. It all would still have had to be redone. Mainly because the bulkheads weren’t perfectly aligned. But it was a learning experience and that is half the journey.
Ponder Point:
Have you ever made mistakes? You know the ones. When you could have gone one direction or another, or you simply didn’t consider all your options at the beginning. There is no use living in regret. Regret only pulls you backward.
If you have found yourself at Camp Failure, then I have good news for you!
If you are willing to admit your faults but then turn from them. If you are able to recognize failure and also learn from it. If you can recognize a redo as an opportunity instead of an obstacle. If you can do all this, then you are well on your way to learning a valuable truth.
It is never too late to start again!
It will take work, some planning, and maybe even a whole lot of sanding. But failures aren’t final as long as you find a way to finish. The greatest adventures often happen on the most fearful of waves. But if your compass stays true, you can cut thru them confidently as you sail towards your goals.
Whatever your project, would you consider starting again?
Be humble, be teachable, be a Beginner!
Next in Episode 9: 2nd Deck Finished, Masts, and Bowsprits!
