In Her Mooring

Although they originally told me I would have to wait until the end of June, I paid the membership yesterday and they told me to go ahead and put her in the mooring.

Here she is at last!

The Launch!

The launch went well!

We got down to the ramp under threat of rain but it looked like it would miss us so we went ahead and launched.

The wind was blowing from the west but, as you will towards the end of the video, they swung to the SE and blew strong! We had a good test of the rigging in that I did not reduce sail and we hit 4 knots to windward, pretty good for a tubby catboat. Going with the wind, we hit just over 6 knots!



here is a direct link to the same video.

http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i266/P....nt=100_7798.flv

Tat was Terri threatening to toss the camera overboard if I overturned the boat! :

There were a couple minor adjustments I will have to make like a downhaul for the boom but nothing major. The boat did not leak and sailed better into the wind than I expected, giving me a light pull to windward on the tiller, which is what you want. All in all a great design from a great designer!

I will get her out again next week after the additional mast hoop arrives and I put the downhaul in!

A special thanks to my dad and Terri. They both contributed greatly to the boat and I appreciate all they did to help!

Sail Test #2

Rigged the mast again today for a correct test for the sail. This means that the mast hoops are on (I'll need one more), the sailed is tied on to the boom and the gaff poles and the uphaul lines are running through the deck blocks (I installed them backwards) and teh lines are tied on to the belaying pins.



Basically, with a few minor modifications and additions, the boat should be ready to take its 1st sail on Monday!

I still have a half dozen things to do like install the cleats for the mooring lines, attach a line to the centerboard to be able to pull it up, install the tiller handle to the rudder and a couple other minor tasks.

Sail Rig Test

Did a test of the mast, gaff and boom. The sail was not properly rigged, I just wanted to make sure that everything hoisted properly and it did. She will be easy to recognize on the water!

Testing the Mast

Today I was finally able to test the mast. I built the tabernacle and this made it a LOT easier to get the mast up and in place. I had attached the tangs to the mast, 12 feet up and ran string down to measure the distance for the stainless wire that will help support the mast from the strain of the wind.

The top bolt is the pivot and the bottom one holds it in place. I cut the mast an inch above the deck at a 45 degree angle and got a nice, tight fit.

The mast itself looks solid. There may be a bit too much rake (angle) in the mast but I will wait to see how it looks when I put the sail up and after I get it in the water.

It will look good once she is launched and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

On the Trailer

Terri helped me get the boat off the floor cradles and on to the trailer. It took us about 15 minutes but it went up fine and rides just right.

This allowed me to test the mast to see if I can lift it into place and decided that I had better cut the mast and place it in a tabernacle. The thing just weighs too much.

The tabernacle will allow me to raise the mast easier and will be the next step as you will see over the next few days. It sets us back a couple days but not too bad.

A month's progress

It has been a while since I have posted anything regarding the boat construction. It was not because nothing was getting done, it was just that progress was tedious and slow.

Since the last post, Teri and I have managed to get the deck painted, the coamings varnished, the cabin floor made and in place. The rudder is hung on its pintles but still lacks the tiller arm. The centerboard is in place and the trim for the centerboard trunk is in and varnished.


Today's project was to start making the mast. I have an 18 foot 4 x 4 that I wanted to make 3-1/2" round, 30" from the bottom and tapered to 2" over the las 3-5 feet (I have not decided yet.)

This is the result after 2 hours of planing:


I will try to get it to its final dimensions tomorrow and then varnish it.

Side Decks

Terri helped pound ring nails in to secure the side decks. I put some waterproof RTV in between the deck and coaming to keep water out. I will putty the nail heads and get the deck ready for painting.

Foredeck

With Terri's help, I was able to get the patterns made and cut out the 2 pieces of 3/8" thick marine plywood that will become the froward deck.

Before we glue, screw and nail the deck down, I want to put the side deck pieces on so they can all be done on the same day.

Mounting the side coamings was hot, sweaty work because they were rather thick (7/8", a bit thicker than the nominal 3/4" I was expecting!). After some persuasion, I got the side ones into place and mounted the forward coaming.

They will be cut down to conform to the lines of the deck and give a more unified appearance.

For now, I am going to concentrate on getting the mast support in between frames 1 & 2 at the deck level so OI can start getting the deck into place.