Poled

So we took a piece of thin wall PVC and wrapped it around the big end of the carbon stick we call a sprit. Then we wrapped carbon around it and we have the launch tube. The PVC acts like bearing material as well as adding some strength.

The tube is now in place and the sprit extends and retracts just the way it is supposed to. As it is tapered however, it does fit a bit loose when retracted so I suspect we will take on more water through our tube than most. Perhaps that is why all the other tapered pole I have seen were deck mounted? Any who, a rubber and foam "stop" of some kind should keep the water intrusion to a minimum.

We also got that keel trunk in. We had leveled the boat when we installed the mast step so we used the mast step for leveling the boat fore and aft. We then leveled across the boat at the chines. The bottom of the boat was cut out with a bit of play and the keel trunk with the keel strut sticking through was centered at the chines and leveled and plumbed. I still am worried about this for some reason, but it does seem like we covered the right bases and the keel should be where it belongs. We still have the taping and such to do and we need to finish off the cockpit area around the keel trunk.

Meanwhile, we are at a bit of a stand still with the glassing of the these items as some material we need NOW was "left with Armstrong at the Front Deck.". As I was at the shop on the date and time UPS did this and there is no Armstrong let alone a Front Deck, I am a bit perturbed. Hopefully it will get worked out, but we lost this weekend and who knows how much longer.

As these details get more and more worked out and marked off the list, sailing this boat this coming Fall is looking like a real probability. If so, we might just be the 6th or 7th US boat sailing. August will be a busy month.