David Nutt knocked on wood one day last week, after saying he was in the best physical shape he'd ever been in. Considering the line of work he chose over 50 years ago, and the sailing adventures he's experienced over those 50-plus years, it's not surprising that he’s fit.

At 1 p.m. on March 25, 2000, he and his wife, Judy Sandick, packed up their four kids, aged 4 to 12, along with a lot of provisions, boarded their 60-foot ketch, Danza, and left Robinson's Wharf on Southport. As the boat set sail on a southeast course, a crowd of about 150 people bid them bon voyage.

At 1 p.m. on June 11, 2005, the family of six sailed back into the harbor after sailing around the world, this time greeted by about 200 family members and friends. After five years of sometimes grueling physical labor on the deck of Danza, Nutt and the other five seafaring sailors were probably all in top notch physical shape.

But this story isn't about Nutt's health. It’s not about that five-year sail around the globe either, though that one is in the works.

This story is about the wood he knocked on, on that mid-February day. It was the bottom of the hull of a 21-foot Boothbay Harbor One Design, a sailboat built for his mother in 1962.

Nutt and his daughter, Sarah, 28, are restoring the boat, Coriolis, in his shop on River Road in Edgecomb. “Over the years these boats tire, just like you and me,” he said. “My siblings and I decided it was time for a total restoration.”

The first Boothbay Harbor One Design was designed in 1937 by Geered Hendel. The approximately 20-foot daysailers are sloops built for sailing competition. Coriolis, Number 31 of 59 Boothbay Harbor One Designs, was built by Sonny Hodgdon.

The father and daughter team has been working on Coriolis intermittently with other projects, since mid-December 2016. Beginning with replacing all of the floor timbers and stripping the hull of layers of paint that had accumulated over the years, they then began the process of “fairing” the hull.

Fairing, done with sandpaper attached to a long board, isn't just smoothing. It involves the entire shape and curve of the hull. “Fairing is a true art form that comes with years of boat building experience,” Nutt said.

Once the fairing was complete, the boat was restored to its correct, original shape.

On Feb. 15, the two were in the shop “veneering” the boat, adding two layers of 1/8 inch western red cedar veneer strips. Each strip has to be measured and cut to exact specifications in order to make it flow and fit snugly with the curve of the hull.

The veneers are adhered to the hull with an epoxy resin thickened with microfibres — ground up cotton and linen — then fixed with plastic staples that can be sanded, or planed, without degrading the tool as a metal staple would.

After the entire length of the boat has been veneered with one layer, another is laid diagonally over the first, essentially creating a plywood exterior over the hull. Nutt said the veneering would take around two weeks, with all the prep work of measuring and cutting every strip before fixing the veneer to the hull.

“It goes pretty quickly. Sarah and I work as a team, so neither of us is ever waiting for the other. There's always something we can each be doing, and this is the second One Design we've worked on together.”

Once the veneering is complete, the boat is again faired, before the final restorative steps are taken, including the off-white and a pale shade of aqua paint, bringing Coriolis back to her original beauty.

Nutt has built, restored and refitted boats — pretty much lived boats — all his life. He has built four new Boothbay Harbor One Designs, and in 1972 he started building a 38-foot cutter for himself. It was completed in 1976. “I sold her years and years ago. I wish I still had her.”

He also designed a fiberglass boat called the Southport 30, a pleasure boat styled after a Maine lobster boat; several have been built by him and local boat builder Doug Goldhirsch, who owns Southport Island Marine, started by Nutt.

David and Sarah Nutt won’t be resting on their laurels after the restoration of Coriolis is complete. There are 13 more Boothbay Harbor One Designs stored at the shop in Edgecomb, and the two will be doing upgrades and routine maintenance on them to get them ready for summer.

At least Nutt hopes his daughter will continue working with him. “From a dad's point of view it’s fun to watch Sarah over the years becoming truly competent and capable. There’s not a whole lot of hand-holding any more.”

Sarah said spending so much time with her boss is good, for the most part. “I have a personal connection with these boats and it’s fun to learn about them from dad.” But he is, after all, her father. “Sometimes he tells me how to mix the epoxy. For the record I know how to mix epoxy.”

Nutt's other three children, David,  Jasper and Charlotte, have helped out in the boat business over the years, and he waxes poetic about them. “So many people just haven’t devoted the time to their kids. This business is a trade, but it’s nothing compared to raising my family. For me it’s the only really important thing I’ll ever do.”

He recently told his oldest son, Jasper (as though it would be good news to him), it would be 50 years before Coriolis would need another major upgrade. “My son said, ‘Dad, I'll be 80.’"

Sarah, who will be 78 if her Dad’s prophecy holds true, is afraid she may not remember the process. She sent her cousin a text and photo, in hopes between the two of them it’ll all come back. The text read: “Jack, this is what the deck looks like, and this is how we get it off in 50 years ...”

Coriolis will be back in the ocean where she belongs, sailing, by summer.

And Danza is for sale. “We hate to sell her, but you know, time marches.”