The title is appropriate for the sailing and for the boatbuilding but first the sailing.
Last Wednesday I had every intention to do a boat end start for clear air and a lane out of the strong incoming tide. Everyone else had the same idea and while we had a close hauled line to clear the stern of the committee boat there was an impenetrable wall of Division 1 yachts and other than breaking rule 14 and giving them all a nudge into the start boat the only choice was to let them all break the rules.
From our position down the line we were blanketed by the bargers and a long way from clear air. Well that is the end of the story. We never broke cover all the way to the top mark and were second last to round in conditions we usually enjoy.
The work home provided some relief and we had some very good angles coming into shortened short course finish line in Rose Bay. Others had equally good angles so we made little ground.
We are left to ponder how different it would have been if we had clear air and kept out of the tide as planned.
Back on the boatbuilding I have been bogging the water tank lids and the settee shelves to the stringers ahead of fixing the ply sheeting. Bogging in shelves takes time especially as each shelf meets the angled stringers at different angles. Nevertheless the job is finished and the next sheet of ply is ready for each side.
Other jobs have been progressing at pace including the rudder port reinforcement at the deck level and completing the plywood panel that separates the quarter berth from the locker. This panel had to be extended down to the hull skin and the join glassed both sides. For good measure the cleats that will support the bunk tops have been glued to the vertical panel so that the whole panel can be primed next time I am in the painting mood.
Since the last blog the bare plywood in the quarter berth ante room and the head has been primed, sanded and spot patched so the interior has a semi finished appearance and the plywood has a level of protection from the elements. I had hoped to do a second coat of primer but in the cool conditions it was insufficiently hard for machine sanding so I have let it cure and done extensive preparation for the second coat. I think that will be more successful as the finish is already very smooth.
There were extra cleats to be added to the plywood in the quarter berth and cockpit locker and a 12 mm doubler for the bottom of the locker to take the tie down points for the heavy equipment. So soon there will be a 75 mm strip of 24 mm plywood to take the straps that will secure the 16 kg spare anchor and the chain attached to the rode.
The potential damage from the heavy anchor always concerns me and on Passion X I have added Tasmanian Oak hardwood strips to the top of the stringers. The Tasmanian Oak is stock trim from the local hardware store and is an ideal timber for the task. I also use this timber to make the tracks for the sliding doors in the galley as it is tough and machines well.
Looking ahead I am inclined to complete the next sheet of plywood on each side before moving aft. Once fixed I can do the epoxy glass join inside and out and glass the chainplate frames to the skin. There is a total of four layers of 450 gram double bias to go over the connection and before the epoxy glass is too hard I would like to do the fairing and prime the shelf area behind the settee.
To be honest I will be torn between finishing the settee area and doing more external ply and the weather will play a big part. The settee area is well protected so it would be sensible to use any fine weather to complete the ply towards the stern where the transom sticks out from under the awning.