With the major structural problems we'd encountered, my time to work on the brightwork was at a minimum and was frankly the least of our worries. I, however, am a varnish junkie and had been furtively looking for a small project that I could work on while I was down at the boat, but something that wouldn't take any time away from the serious work to be done.

The small project presented itself in the form of the locust tiller we'd brought home and that had been leaning in a corner of the office, a few feet from my chair.

Ladies and Gentlemen, start your heat guns...