Saturday 20 July 2019

Five new things

1. Cover
Made from the leftover large piece of polytarp from making the sail, plus a small tarp from the hardware store. Held on by a perimeter line threaded through grommets. The slit for the mast is on the starboard side and is held together with industrial-strength hook & loop material sewn on. Perimeter line ties there. Also, a little collar was sewn on to keep too much rain water from coming in along the mast.
 
2. Topping Lift
 Just a thin line through a plastic ring I had attached to the masthead just below the halyard fairlead, it ties to the after end of the boom/yard bundle, which will act as a tent ridgepole when camping. Maybe. We'll see. At least, we're dreaming in that direction.
The forward end of the sail bundle is held up by the halyard, and the whole thing is kept from swinging forward by the "bleater", the little line that ties the mast and boom together and keeps the boom from going any more forward.
 
3. Ensign!
Hand-sewed the little Canadian flag to the top of the leech. This is the same flag that was on the sails of both Firefly and Golightly previously. It better not be upside-down. Many checks on that account!

4. Back rests
As seen in the photo above. Close-up:
Pool noodle halves fastened on with nylon webbing through the middle hole, screwed at the ends. Creature comforts being addressed after affirmative performance tests.

5. Re-boarding loop
In the second photo above, the fuzzy rope that's holding the sail bundle on the centreline (standing in for the mainsheet) ties to a cleat on the aft bulkhead and is long enough to throw over the transom, to be used as a foot strop for boarding the boat over the stern from the water. There's a piece of rubber standard watering hose threaded onto it that is intended to be the step, which will hold the loop open for foot insertion.