Finish Line in Sight

Dry fitting a cardboard mail tube in place of the mast allows me to accurately pattern a sail cover, make the final cut on the boom gallows stanchions and cut the mast wedges.

Thankfully all below deck sanding, painting and varnishing is done.  Tom the electrician can now finish installing the new SSB, tuner and the KISS counterpoise.  Next week we will lay the Nu-Tek fake teak deck.  Other biggies on the to do list are frig/freezer doors and the forward cabin door. Settee cushions are also on that list.  

And here is a photo from 3 1/2 years ago when the finish line was far away.

The seventh mast hoop is a spare. The hoop stack with mains'l stowed is going to make for a very wide mains'l cover but I don't want to lace the main to the mast. I spent some bucks on the hoops and I am going to at least start with them. I can always switch to lacings later and recut the cover. 

Rose Bud

Soon to the Water

The stick in the photo is actually a pair of cardboard mail tubes with the same 6.5 inch diameter as the real mast. By stepping a short facsimile of a mast while we are still on the hard and under the big top we can double check the boom and boom gallows height, accurately position the mast on the step to fix the aft rake, build the partners and mast wedges and with the boom and gaff in place measure for a mains'l cover.

A few more recent photos:

Next month we will truck the boat to Hillman's Marine on Dickinson Bayou. Hillman's is the closest point of entry with the water depth and crane capacity we need. Their prices are reasonable and they have no problem with outside contractors working in their yard. After we see where she floats on her lines Hillman's will take us back out of the water so we can paint the boot stripe, apply  bottom paint and step the mast.