Let me ask you something. Does a cork-shark’s bite hurt?

I think most of us have very specific likes and dislikes in our lives. What we like to eat, what we like to listen to, our favorite walks. And then there is the standard board game playing color. I think this is definitely a controversial one. Some players will not care, but most will prefer to play with one specific color. And then others will down right refuse to play with anything but their color. In our gaming group I am always red while Mr.AP is yellow. But hey, I’m not fussy! I am OK to switch it up: I’ll happily play with… red instead of red.

The other day, when we opened a new game and were looking through the components we realized with horror that one of the key pieces, a sailing boat was missing its sails. It was the yellow one. The one in Mr AP’s standard playing color.

I totally get it, it happens. Games are manufactured in mass and human and mechanical errors happen. BUT TO OUR YELLOW SAILBOAT???? Mr.AP was such a good sport about it. He said it will be OK, it’s not a big deal. However, I did see a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

So I thought I must do something about it. I decided to fix the boat, essentially become a shipwright. I experimented with cardboard, molding material that hardens, but it wasn’t really working. Then I thought I’d give cork a go. And that turned out to be the perfect choice. I cut a wine cork to size with a craft knife and adjusted its shape. I sanded down the ship a bit to make sure the glue would have something to stick to, then affixed the new sail. All that was left was to paint the ship which I did with a bit of acrylic paint.

Playing around with the cork sail… or is it a shark’s fin?
Trying on the new sails
A sail repaired

I have to be honest, I had my doubts about this project. I was not sure it would work, if the cork would stay put. Or the paint adhere to the cork. But I’m really pleased with how it turned out. I think it looks really good. You can hardly tell the difference between the two sails. One thing I must keep in mind though: the cork sail has decreased the ship’s overall weight. And that – my friends – means the ship will travel faster. With this added lead I’ll have to be on my toes when we’ll play Cooper Island. I’ll have to do something about Mr.AP’s little advantage!

If you liked this post on ships you might also enjoy…