Countdown to Launch - Projects

Ariel must be in the water no later than June 20 - ideally, some time closer to the 15th to allow for at least one shakedown cruise. Looking at the calendar, noting that there are only seven days til the 15th, it would be an understatement to say that time is running short, especially after spending nearly two days working on a project that should have only taken a few hours.

Sunday morning I pulled all of the wires out of the mast and began working on attaching them to a cable (essentially a boltrope) that runs in a track inside the mast. (We had ordered sail slugs from Rig-Rite that allegedly fit in the track but they were far too big, necessitating some improvisation.) With all the wires secured, a new run of wire for the deck/steaming lights, and the new radar scanner mounted, the mast was stepped yesterday (Thursday). I was unable to attach the radar cable to the internal cable, so I reused the pipe foam and insulated the cable that way.

I believe it was Monday that I began repairing the bowsprit in preparation for the new Spartan rollers. Prior to any installation, though, I had to epoxy teak blocks to the end of the 'sprit to lengthen it enough to prevent the aft end of the roller assembly from contacting the stem fitting. Yesterday, I sanded and shaped the prongs that the rollers mount to and, after some careful work with the Dremel and Fein Multi-master, bolted the rollers in place. And my are they beefy!! The repair looks good and I'm very pleased with how things turned out. A large piece in the center section that I had epoxied in place prior to winter required some sanding and shaping, but it turned out great too. I have yet to reinstall the threaded bolt the runs through the 'sprit and draws the laminated strips together. Once that's in I'll have to set some bungs, lightly sand the 'sprit, and cetol.

Wednesday I spent about five hours chiseling out the toe rail for our new mid-ship cleats. Although the job wasn't too difficult, it was rather stressful. I measured and re-measured, shaved a bit then test-fit the cleat (repeat and repeat) before finally shaping the starboard toe rail to nearly a perfect fit. The port side took about half as long since I had a better feel for just how much I could cut out without going too far. I drilled the holes and mounted the cleats yesterday. Again, drilling was rather tense. Due to the proximity of the cleat to the hull, drilling (not to mention placement of the cleat) requires some forethought and precision. Drill at the wrong angle, and you'll either drill straight into the hull laminate, or, worse, you'll drill right through the hull. Drill the holes at too sharp of an angle (inboard), and you run the risk of deforming the bolts to the point of breaking as you tighten them. Place the cleat incorrectly, and you just might drill into a hull-to-deck bolt. It pays to plan and measure and plan and measure - and take your time. I'm thrilled with the way the cleats turned out. Fantastic.

First Official Day of Summer Vacation

I submitted my final grades this morning around 11 o'clock, and yesterday the faculty concluded our three-day post-session, so I am now officially on summer vacation. Unfortunately getting to this point has been fraught with complications (some my own fault, others not) and disappointment. Where to begin?
In addition to my long list of things to do on Ariel, I now have pressing matters to deal with at home. We're preparing to move to a new home, so beyond all of the paperwork and stress that comes with that, we also need to get our current home ready to rent. To complicate matters even further, I smashed up our new (to us) 2003 Camry thanks to a deer. So, now we're back to the old cars that were the reason for purchasing the new Camry! Six thousand dollars and a couple of weeks and the Camry should be out of the shop. My disappointment is tempered by family and friends who tell me the accident could have been a lot worse (I'm sure the deer would disagree).
Enough complaining; we're blessed to be able to move and I'm happy to be alive. This too shall pass.