Restoring a 1970 Fireball Sailing Dingy - Summer 2024

Since we bought our summer home on Baseline Lake near Ann Arbor, Michigan, I had this urge to buy an old sailboat and restore it with our grandsons, Ryusei and Gavin. Well, it just so happened that our neighbors had a 1970 Fireball sitting in their garage, and on October 28, 2023 we wheeled it over to our garage on a makeshift trolley. What followed was our Summer Project from July to October 2024. It required many hours of repairs, sanding, painting, sanding... many times, leaving several days between coats to let the paint cure. At the end of summer, the leaves were coming down, autumn had arrived, and Katie and I were leaving, October 7, for New York and other travels. This project is not finished yet – we need to review the mast and boom, rigging, rudder and centerboard, and of course the sails, all items left for next summer 2025. But for me, it was a labor of love and a privilege to work with Ryusei, albeit for too short a time, and with Gavin, and Lolly through summer 2024. I hope some of my love for sailing rubs off next year, summer of 2025, when we get the Fireball in the water! Oupa Willie Grové, October 2024