“Is that a Lightning?” How many times during eight months of work on a wooden boat with a rotten hull did that question echo across the boatshop? Almost every day, weekly at least, usually uttered by an older man for whom an affirmative response brought a surge of enthusiasm. “Oh, wow! That’s the boat I learned to sail on!” or “I helped my Grampa build one of those in his garage!” or “We had so much fun racing these every summer!”

I’d never heard of a Lightning before the Northwest Maritime Boatshop Manager suggested I might want to fix up the 19-foot vessel languishing outside on its rusted trailer. I could see the rain dripping through the falling falling to the ground through the boat. My reluctance held firm until Joel recommended working with a fellow boatshop student skilled in woodworking.

It was October. Cindy and I thought, why not? What a great project for the dark days of winter! Get it on the water by early spring while conjuring summer adventures.

We worked outside in the cold autumn darkness, removing the mast, boom, and bronze deck fittings with their lovely green patina. We brought the sole board and benches into the shop to sand, wash with oxcilic acid, and treat with the traditional sauce of boiled linseed oil, turpentine, and pine tar.

We signed up for a month of mentoring that coincided with Cindy’s break from her full-time job. We turned the boat upside down, cut out her rotten hull, and kept on cutting away rot in chine logs right up to her fine Port Orford Cedar topsides. Having unbuilt one hull, now all we needed to do was build a new one. We worked days, nights, and weekends.

At the end of July, Firefly was finally launched. This little boat was designed in 1938 by Olin Stephens of the prestigious New York yacht builders Sparkman and Stephens. The Lightning was to be the boat of the average citizen, built in a garage to get the family out on local waters. Its success today can be measured in the 16,000 hulls built, its continued expansion to other parts of the globe, and a vibrant Lightning Class International Association.

Stay tuned for the whole story. Be patient as I get the hang of WordPress.