Closer to splash

The past few weeks we have been busy getting Cupcake prepared launch day. It looks like she will be ready to go in the drink in about a week. She has been in a big work-shed at the boatyard for several weeks. Exciting at first, but now I'd really prefer to have her out of that gloomy, dirty environment and in the water where she belongs. Also, we took everything off the boat last fall: cushions, mattress, gear, supplies...everything. And it is all in the basement, the barn, the garage. We can't wait to put it all back onboard to see how low Cupcake will sit in the water. (Remember, she is built for comfort, not for speed.)

Before she left our yard, I got her surveyed (passed with flying colors) and insured. I mostly finished the sink installation in the head. Just need to do a bit of caulking and then the head will be ready for the composting toilet.

The guys at the boatyard have been working on installing the water maker (very glad I outsourced that complicated task). And they have been finishing up some punch list items that were left-over from last fall's rudder and steering work. The steering is still very stiff, so they need to get to the bottom of that issue. And the wheel-brake has not worked right since we got the boat, even though the brake shoes were replaced last fall. 

In other news, I've been working on some interior projects like varnishing the floorboards. They were never varnished on the bottoms or edges so this spring seemed like a good time to give them a thorough coating on all six sides. While the floorboards were all up and out I tidied up some of the wiring in the bilges. Ellen and I also evaluated what durable, long-term provisions we will keep down there.

Got the new hanging baskets installed. Ellen's design. Very smart. Also put in those neat LED strip lights. They are bright bright bright. Hopefully they are also durable. And put in a new teak overhead piece in the galley to hold up the baskets, strip light, and fan. Used toggle switches. I love toggle switches and think it is because they were used in the first car I ever loved.

Side note (perhaps the first cruising tip of the day): 1/4" teak plywood is not cheap but boy does it make a boat interior look nice. Easy to cut drill and shape, smells great. Good stuff. Over the years I've replaced just about every plastic/vinyl/icky flat piece in the boat with teak ply. The only remaining pieces are a few wall/overhead pieces in the aft-cabin that Moss says she likes. No accounting for taste.

And in a day or so I will have the new/used winch, clutch, and deck organizer ready for the new reefing lines I ran in the boom this winter. I have just about had it with drilling and epoxying and sanding and drilling for the time being. There will be another opportunity for that itchy sticky fun when I source one more set of rope clutches for the starboard side. Port is for reef lines #1 and #2 as well as the vang line. Starboard will be for main halyard, sheet, and outhaul. I've been plotting this change for about five years. We will see how it works.

The starboard winch is a two-speed Lewmar 30 self-tailing. This winter I got a decent deal on a pair of used Harken 16 single-speed self-tailing winches. One is for the reef and vang side, the plan for the second one is to install it on the mast to make hauling the dinghy on deck a simpler task: one person grinds the winch, the other person manages the dinghy as it comes up or goes down. Neither of the winches on the mast right now is self-tailing but both are two-speed 16s. I am a little concerned that a single-speed 16 won't be enough mechanical advantage, so Ellen needs to start taking her biceps, triceps, quadriceps, and hexaceps seriously.

Last week I pulled the swim ladder off the transom. Yesterday I peeled the name and port of call off, tried to get the rust stains out of the fiberglass, buffed, and measured for the new name. Met with the sign guy today and he says the new name vinyl (two-color) will be ready by the weekend. That's important because I'd prefer not to install it when Cupcake is in the water.

The old girl (Cupcake, not Ellen) looks so naked without her name. Check out her big three blade propellor. If we ever decide to switch to a lobster boat, we will have the perfect prop.

Finally, I've got the new Dyer (Moon Cracker) just about ready for the season. We will try to have her in the water by the weekend so we have some watercraft in the ocean for Memorial Day. In Maine we use a hard-dinghy. These Dyers are the perfect tenders for New England. But when we head south we will leave our little fiberglass friend behind and take the rubber dinghy. (Check out Moss installing the gunwale guard. Maximum efficiency means using two screwdrivers at once.)

Ellen has been hard at work sewing covers for the cockpit cushions. They look marvelous. Next up: sun-cover for the 5hp outboard.

Oh. I've also been going to work and all that. Things seem to be winding down at the office so I ought to have a good bit of June and most of July to get even more stuff done on Cupcake.