THE BOAT
A Swifty 12 from Shell Boats, the Armand's Joy was first built in 1998 by Armand himself. In her glory days, this vessel was rowed, sailed, and motored around various New England bodies of water helmed by Armand or his wife Jackie (pictured), toting around their grandchildren. It was then passed to Armand's son Michael and then his niece and Armand's granddaughter, Liz.
THE REPAIR
Armand's Joy was used for years before being stored in a number of poorly suited locations by two different owners before finally finding a repair home in a Massachusetts Maker Space. Repair work began in earnest in April of 2021 and to date includes removing previous epoxy repairs, replacing a rotted plank on the starboard side, replacing a rotted centerboard trunk, patching several holes in the hull, new fiberglassed seams, a fresh coat of epoxy on the hull and then paint, sealing and shaping the bits of repair that are in the cockpit, and the start of repainting.
THE WOMAN
Liz is an engineer by day and and a very amateur shipwright on nights and weekends. She was raised partially in her Grampy's workshop which required the removal of the car from the garage to manifest. She was there when the boat was originally constructed and has distinct memories of swimming in her grandparent's pool with the wood for the gunwale soaking. She hopes that this site will help her find more girls, gays, and theys who are also into woodworking, boats, and overall building and making
