The title applies to both the sailing and the boatbuilding. The sailing can be attributed in part to a very dirty hull which for various reasons remains unscrubbed. Hopefully that will be righted over the Christmas break and we will be back to form.
Despite the poor performance the absence from the fleet of several competitors means the results don’t look too bad provided you do not look at the elapsed times.
Last week the winds were the strongest of the season and with a No 3 jib and full main we survived with a crew of four and had a very quick trip twice around Goat island.
This week with a lighter breeze the dirty bottom was more of a handicap but it was nevertheless a pleasant trip around the islands.
On the boatbuilding front I am busy patching all the holes from the temporary fasteners, doing more torture boarding as my muscles will permit and filling in the wet days with work inside the hull with filleting the bulkheads to the hull.
The weather has been frustrating as the covers have to go on with the slightest rain and that upsets the rythm of the boatbuilding.
As of tonight the temporary fastener holes on the starboard side are fully patched with thickened epoxy and both sides of the hull have had a good workout with the torture board. The centre line join and the bow have been fibreglassed with three layer of 420 gsm double bias and the bow has been sanded ready for fairing filler.
The next job is to finish the hole filling on the port side and do a light sanding of the hull prior to more fairing filler. After that I will be happy to coat all the plywood with a sealing layer of epoxy resin.
