May 2008

May 29

Last Sunday we packed ourselves up and headed to the mouth of the Ottawa River to look into a few marinas and boat clubs. The area has some advantages for me, which you can get some idea of from the upper aerial photo. To the north is the Erie Marshes and State Game Preserve. To the south is Maumee Bay. To the east is Lake Erie. The lower photo shows one very specific advantage for an engineless boat. There are no breakwaters or tight channels to navigate. You are pretty much in the lake the second you untie. A quick shove and away you go.

Varnished mast hoops

May 19

Radiused all the edges of the mast hoop blanks, and gave them a thorough sanding and varnishing. Despite being just a bit over 1/4 inch thick, they are very strong. The epoxy/oak laminate hoops bounce and ring like a wooden gong when you drop them onto concrete.

I've been experimenting with rigging tar, and have found a formula I like.

Bronze belaying pins.

May 12

Pangur Ban has a few belaying pins in her rigging plan. Since I had the scrap and the lathe, I decided to make some bronze belaying pins.

Sheets and halyards cut to length, whipped, bundled and tagged awaiting mast stepping day.

Palm and needle whipping.

Blocks on the sheets.

The parts for the rigging are mostly complete. The sheets and halyards are cut to length and finished off. I accomplished this by laying out the masts, gaffs, and booms on the ground next to the hull, and rigging one line at a time. With luck this will save me the embarrassment of cutting too short.

I had thought to step the masts this weekend, but found it's simply not possible without some mechanical assistance. I can handle the weight by myself-the problem is the balance point is too high up the mast to allow for control. So, now I have to figure out some kind of temporary jib-crane for the task.