All worth it.

While Spark is by no means done, she is currently in a condition to sail. My trip to the Small Boat Festival in St. Michaels MD was her first time in the water since about 1981. It was also the first time I had been on the water in almost as long, I think I stopped sailing my sunfish in 1985.

Yes, she leaked, the bolt for the centreboard pivot needed to be tightened up to stem the worst of it. I will have to remove the centreboard trunk and re-glue it to get it down to just a slight amount of weeping. Not bad for a boat going on 37 years sitting on a trailer.

My initial sail was not good. With the loose centreboard, I had to resort to a bungie to hold it down and I had to learn to douse sails long before approaching the docks. As Spark is still set up for racing and not cruising, taking her sails down is no easy task. New Sails will take care of that issue in no time flat.

Overall though, my GP was a responsive, fast, and forgiving boat. The first day out was extremely light winded, so I just ghosted about the Miles River. The next day saw a nice breeze and for a short while when I was chasing a seemingly faster boat, she was throwing up a rooster tail. Even sleeping aboard was not bad with my makeshift boom tent. Not exactly comfortable, but tolerable for a few days.