The Fastest Heat Gun on South Lake Union

The Mistral mast, 40-plus feet of glorious scarfed spruce, was starting to look checked and discolored way back in April. Then came a summer of Mediterranean sun and a fall of monsoon rain, leaving sections of varnish ready to peel like sunburned skin. We pulled the mast Monday, put it in The Center for Wooden Boats spar shed and started removing some 35 feet of varnish, one...square...inch...at...a...time. It was painfully slow until Martin, above, and Dave, yes, in the sling, arrived. In three hours we had half the mast scraped. Another pitch like that and we'll be ready to sand, bleach, sand and, come slightly warmer weather, varnish.