A Lightning on the Patomac

Posted By: Wilkie Woodard
Date: 9/22/99 11:08a.m.

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The story of a man and his boat(s) Written June 1998//WWW Notes added July 1999 During the year between Vietnam and college I bought a twenty foot sail boat. At the time I lived in Akron Ohio and had no experience with boats at all. I had read "Sailing Alone Around the World" "Gypsy Moth Circles the World" etc etc etc-Maybe it is normal for lonely young men to dream of escaping to sea. Anyway, there I am with a new boat knowing nothing about sailing. Took the boat out and learned to sail. Kept the boat for three years. During the summers, I would go sailing There were times when I barely had money for gas to drive out to the lake, but I could go sailing. After twenty some years of miscellaneous adventures and miss-adventuresI recently bought a very similiar boat-a forty year old centerboard sloop, with varnished trim, a large cockpit and varnished wood mast. The current boat is a LIGHTNING-built in Holland in 1958. After much frustration the boat was towed to a boat rental place in Georgtown, DC There I worked on the boat for two month replacing the uppersix feet of the mast and the transom. Bought a six-foot piece of Douglas Fir 2 X 4 and carved away anything that did not look like a mast. In addition ther were many minor repairs and upgrades necessary. And a lot of sanding and painting!! This has been an interesting experience. Because my life is somewhat stable-good job; safe place to live, money in the bank; I am able to focus on the boat in a realistic manner. This means not just money but realizing that the boat is not my entire life.When I was about to cut the wood for the transom-I mentally said"Uh-Oh! What if I make a mistake???" I then realized that it would be "OK" to make a mistake. Frustrating?? Very much so!! But my life would not end if I wasted that particular piece of wood. When I first looked at the current boat I was able to see defeat-"Living in the wreckage of the future" Since then I have gotten a trailer for free and completely rebuilt the trailer-licensed & legal with lights and everything!!! Then moved the boat from Lorton, Virginia to Georgetown. Bought materials and have done major carpentry. Also purchased Life Jackets Anchor Oars etc, etc, etc. Having the current boat in Georgetown makes a this project accessible. Last weekend I could walk to an air-conditioned resturant and get lunch. There is AC power close by and a soda machine to supply cold diet cokes. It has not alwas been so. Several years ago I took over a thirty foot wooden boat.This was the same boat on which I met my now ex-wife. After three years and a lot of work and money. I had to admit defeat and give up on the boat. It needed a complete new hull. As I replaced one portion the adjacent pieces were falling apart. The boat was located in the middle of a field two hundred feet from shade or AC power The drive out to work on the boat seemed like a hundred miles each way. One day I was working on the boat drilling and cutting with hand-tools because of no electricity. The owner of the adjacent boat drove up; parked his truck and started a portable generator. He then stepped on the hydrauic tail gate on his truck, pushed a button and was raised up to deck level. Talk about feeling technology envy!!!! Launching day for the Lightning was postponed several times. October of 1998 the Lightning went into the water for the first time in ten years. I have sailed it whenever possible since then. Including the day after New Years. Yes, it does get brisk during the winter here in DC!!