After the launch on Sunday I spent a couple days working through the final rigging for the mainsail and getting a few more small daysails in to test the setup properly.
Mizzen sheet block tied to boomkin
It was a real pleasure to have all the blocks I made fitted and feel like the proportions I chose were appropriate.
mainsheet dyneema stropped fiddle blocks with cherry cheeks.
It all came together nicely for the maiden shakedown daysail on Wednesday.
under full sail
Everything went quite well except that the centreboard was quite tight in the centreboard well when I tried to lower it. It would appear that the extra layers of paint on top of the graphite epoxy finish might have been a little superfluous and causing me grief.
So I removed the thwart to get the centreboard out the next day and saw exactly where it was a touch too wide.
centreboard just a little too wide
knowing that these parts are well hidden and have lots of epoxy coats. I sanded down the paint and re-installed it in the centreboard well.
I’m now ready for the planned first voyage out to go camping in Howe Sound on Friday with the family.
My plan had been to un-shed the boat last October and get working on the spars through the winter. However just as I had a boat lifting party set up to carry it onto a trailer and down to the sailing centre the COVID protocols changed and in keeping with the prudence asked of us I delayed this to the spring when hopefully we will have some relaxations. Here in BC that is looking less like early spring and more like late spring now.
In my last post I shared how I’m getting all the rigging materials and systems ready in anticipation of the masts being completed. To that end I’ve also decided to try my hand at making a hybrid modern rope (dyneema) stropped blocks. I was inspired by the Robert Shetterly’s beautiful illustrations in Brion Toss’ “The Rigger’s apprentice” drawing on page 22 of the book.
I though why not do this but just a little smaller and lighter with modern ropes for a large dinghy like the Caledonia Yawl? My ambition is to do two fiddle blocks for the main sheet, a block for the jib halyard and possibly two blocks for the jib sheet leads and a block for the mizzen sheet.
My first activity was to make copper thimbles using 3/4″ copper pipe cut down to 15mm widths and then heated up with a blow torch and two ball peen hammers. Which I adapted from the blog post by Shady Island pirates http://shadyislepirates.com/?q=node/207
This technique using three successive sizes of ball bearings also looks great, it appears to be better to create a more even curve to the flare of the thimble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUTcRHYYN1I
So far it is going reasonably well.
I’ve also found a set of brass rods to use as the pivot for the delrin sheaves.
I then glued up the blocks out of 12mm thick reclaimed cherry wood I’ve been milling from pieced of a trunk I collected in the neighbourhood a few years ago.
Then drilling the 5/16 th hole for the axle.
Then cut and round out the edges of the blocks
And finally round over the edges with a 1/4 round router bit.
The final steps will be to further shape the blocks to allow the rope strop to be seated properly as well as removing a little more wood to make the block as light as possible.
I’m hopeful that once completed with the strop and thimble and all oiled up they will look really sharp and give the boat an even saltier look that is true to the hybrid nature of an epoxy plywood construction that blends the old and new of wooden boat building.
Projects, images, and ideas for my little piece of the internet
