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He had something to eat and went to the shed and got out
some nails and two hammers and practised hammering on
the anvil. He found some tar and hemp, heated the tar in a
bucket on a primus and cut two lengths of hemp. After
dinner Barbro joined him and lay on a rug under the boat
holding a rock while Lars lay inside and hammered the
rivets home. It now had a light-coloured board and a light-
coloured half rib, contrasting with the other timber which
was black with tar. They launched the boat, jumped on
board and drifted in the wind. A few drops seeped in.
Barbro said they had done a good job. What about the
helm? Lars said he would fix it the next day. They rowed
around the headland, pulled the boat ashore and set it
upright. Barbro walked home. Lars collected a few buckets
of sea water and poured enough into the boat to cover the
repair so that the boards would expand. When he had
finished they had swollen. He went to the new landing
stage where he disentangled and repaired the line they had
saved. He wondered if he should wash it as well.
Wash tackle in mid-season?
He decided not to, and instead slung the line-holders with
the rest of the tackle on the baiting bench. It was dark and
snowing heavily as he walked home. In the kitchen window
he spotted a face. It was Felix, who had got up and was
waiting for him.
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