Testing launching and setup

                                      My little helper getting the lashing ropes out of the hulls .

                I wasn't sure about  standing the mast while on the trailer so we did it on the water .

                              At anchor "very calm day" stood the mast and got the sails up

                                                     And away she goes under full sail 

New trailer springs and timber peices for the cradle .

                    
  I drove all over town today looking for replacement leaf springs for the trailer but could only find
           ones with bushings on one end . After thinking about it for a bit in the shop i decided
                                      i could make this type of spring work with my trailer .

 Of course nothing is ever easy when i got back and started to fit the new springs i discovered that   
        the bushing is too small to fit the existing bolt in the hanger so we drilled them out to fit .
                   I then set about adjusting the trailer again to get the weight spread evenly.

               I bought 3 sheets of structural ply wood for the new deck panels and for these .
They are the bits that will be through bolted to the cradle frame and then carpeted to support the boat when the beams are removed and i slide the hulls together then hopefully if the weather improves
                       i can go and do a test launch and see if anything needs to be improved .

Setting up the rigging and the trailer

                   The old deck is in the boat for now just so we can have somthing to stand
                                                      on while sorting out the rigging

                    The sails are hoisted so all the lines cleats and fittings can be put into place

                                        Everything appears to be coming together  nicely

         The boat is raised with jacks in its assembled state with the mast removed to set up the trailer .

 Now i need to square everything up so we can finish the cradles on the expanding arms of the trailer.

The poor old tiered leaf springs didn't take the load of the boat very well and sagged quite a bit .
                          So they will need to be replaced as part of the trailer overhaul  .

                    1300kg jack stands and a steady plank of wood (for safety you know)   :)  

                                        Next job , need to go into town to get some parts .

lashing protectors and leaky hatches

               Some 90 degree PVC flashing cut along one side to make it shorter and then
      into  short bits the corner is round and smooth and should provide the timber beam and the new 
                                                  paint some protection from the lashings

             Glued into place with some left over Sikaflex , Also fitting the beam cleats and the
                                             non skid paint on the beams is now complete  .

 The hatches that i bought turned out not to be watertight so i returned them and to my surprise not only got a full refund but also got a discount on some better ones so a big thank you to the team at Roadtechmarine  for all your help during the project .

 Not long to go now and we will be standing the mast and getting all the chain plates , rigging , rudders , deck hardware etc fitted .

Expanding trailer and more painting

 Alongside all the work on the boat i have been building an expanding trailer so that the boat can       
                                          be set up and launched with a minimum of fuss .

 The expanding "draws" on the trailer include the Mudguards so that the boat can be lower on 
                                                                     the trailer.

                   Also got some more primer done on the last few bits of boat including the mast 

Grippy stuff

 Masked and painted the first two deck grip panels so that i can stick the vents down tomorrow .

 The tiller arms are sanded and ready for primer . I keep finding things that still need to be sanded .
                                           "fun stuff" but surely i must almost be done .

         The steps/seats for both hulls were fitted and pine strips screwed and glued in for strength  
                                                 they will be epoxy primed and carpeted .

Rubber blocks and contact glue .

 The beams were originally resting on rubber blocks and each one is slightly different . Black rubber in various thicknesses is cut into many pieces ready to fit each beam .

 The  contact glue is applied to both surfaces after a light sanding yes you need to sand the rubber too.

After the glue has dried to touch 15 minutes in this case the blocks are pressed into place . You only get one go at this so it has to be spot on .

 The old steps/seats that rest just inside the main cabin way were OK but we had some ply left from building the rudders so we thought why waste it .

 The new steps will be neater lighter and stronger

One of the hulls did not have blocks in place to support the step so they had to be cut fitted and epoxyed to the hull . I can't use screws in this location so a bit of masking tape  is used untill the epoxy hardens . Hopefully the bond will be strong enough .