Semifinal touches

Here's a quick photo update of progress during the last week. After the big boat bash overhaul last weekend we've been putting final touches on the rigging here and there. First we reglassed the boom jaw and gave the whole thing a coat of spar varnish. We molded a ring on the mast for the boom to ride on when furling (you have to temporarily unclip the boom from the tack of the sail to allow it to roll around the mast, leaving the boom unsupported in the front).

We added some crucially needed instruments: a marine compass and a windvane mounted on the bow. The leeboard got its quick-n-dirty mounting hole drilled out and molded an epoxy sleeve around the pivot bolt. That will prevent water from getting into the board and help transfer bearing loads from the pivot.

 The trailer got new carpeted bunks so the boat doesn't get torn up when launching and retrieving - now it looks like a real boat trailer!

Still no paint yet (that will probably happen tomorrow). Hope to go out for a test sail this afternoon. There's still a lot to buy and pack for the NCC and barely enough time!


Finally, thanks again to Dan and Mary for hosting The Rise in their garage this past week - it's really made it possible to get all this work done.