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The Log of Ariel: Spring Commissioning and Launch

6.17.05 - Launch Day!! Oil level checked, raw water impellor replaced, coolant topped up, batteries installed, seacocks cleaned and greased and ... she splashed at about two o'clock Friday afternoon. It's great to have her back where she belongs and to feel her move underfoot.

By the way, I hate the color of the new bottom paint!!

6.16.05 - Prepping Ariel for a June 15 launch has been so intense that I haven't had time to update the site in quite some time. My typical routine for approximately the last two weeks (since school let out) has been to arrive at the boat around 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning and not return home until about 9 or 10 in the evening. It has been grueling to say the least, but Ariel is sitting prettily in the water and waiting for a shakedown cruise.
Jobs begun and completed within the last two weeks:

JRC radar scanner and display installed - cable run through mast and insulated.	Mast wires pulled and secured to internal track using plastic coated cable as a boltrope.
Original 3-wire for deck and steaming lights replaced and rewired.	Bottom sanded to barrier coat and painted with 3 qts VC17m - 36.00/qt.
Topsides cleaned and waxed with Collinite.	All seacocks disassembled, cleaned, and greased.
Spartan mid-ship chocks/cleats installed.	Bootstripe repainted - three coats Interlux Brightside Polyurethane, Fire Red.
Raw water intake thru-hull removed, cleaned, and rebedded.	External raw water strainer removed, cleaned, and replaced with four new bronze fasteners (thanks Tim!!).
Bowsprit repaired and extended using teak blocks epoxied to forward "prongs".	Spartan bowrollers installed.

Some observations on the mast wiring: Rig-Rite allegedly supplies sail slugs that are designed to be used in the internal track of the Cape Dory 36 mast; however, the slugs they shipped were far too big, and phone calls to them (or should I say their answering service) profited nothing but "Have you tried faxing them this information?". I realize they had a fire, but when time is slipping by and the mast MUST be stepped in a couple of days, there isn't time for faxing and waiting for a reply that might solve your problems or it might not. Anyway, I ended up using 3/16" plastic-coated cable in the internal track as a boltrope that I then tied the wiring bundle to every 2-3 feet. When everything was in place, I looped the end of the wire around the spacers for the forestay tang to keep the works from trying to slide down the mast, placing undue strain on the masthead wires. We'll just have to wait to see how well this systems works - and for how many years. For those interested, Ariel's internal tracks are shaped more like a mast used on smaller CDs - CD-4 mast section - instead of the mast section used on the 36 - CD-5 mast section. They are an odd shape and size, and I was unable to source any slugs that would fit that size track. One possibility, though, might be to use some sort of curtain slide, although I was unable, in my limited time, to find some that fit.

Some notes on the mid-ship chocks/cleats: Taking my time on this project was critical; chisel away too much toerail and you're left with only a couple of options, none of which is particularly easy or attractive. The first cleat must have taken me about 3 hours, while the second required only an hour-and-a-half.