NY 3166 BZ

It’s the New York State Boat registration number for the kayak. I had to write it down because I have been working on the kayak. During its voyage around Moreau the other day, Dad and I noticed a few leaks. The old canvas is a little brittle and frail in spots after sitting in the heat and cold of the garage for the past umpteen years. Dad thought a coating of water proof would do it, but the paint was flaking in too many places.

So we scraped away what we could, slapped a pint of Bondo on the surface, applied a dab or two of contact cememt where needed and then I went looking for marine paint. I found out later that the last time Dad painted the boat, which I vaguely remember as 1966, he used Benjamin Moore house paint. Marine primer and paint seemed like overkill at $90 for a quart of each. But the paint salesman whom I accidentally ran into at Saratoga BoatWorks, said it would last three times as long as “regular marine” paint. If it lasts as long as the Benjamin Moore paint, well won’t some heir be lucky.


The primer went on like soft butter on a warm biscuit. I could make a career out of painting boats if it wasn’t for all the brush cleaning. I put two coats on the old kayak before I applied the first topcoat, Mauritius Blue, a fine color indeed. Tomorrow I should finish the second coat. And if I am lucky, maybe I can take her out on a small voyage, just for the satisfaction of it all before I head back to Florida.

Now if we can get the old ¼ horse power Evinrude motor (vintage 1930’s) fired up…