This Time for Real

The ToDo List (to the right)has been updated.
 
How can it be almost two weeks since my last post? Seems like yesterday. Hard not to start getting a little tense. The way time flies.

Que Sera Sera. We will be ready when the time comes (or not).

We are finally finished with the work up the mast (No April Fool this time.)  and there are some pictures here from the last trip up. That's it for awhile I hope. I needed to lubricate some blocks and add some safety wiring.

We also lubricated the turnbuckles on the shrouds so they will not be so hard to adjust. (I'll probably be tuning the rig this afternoon or tomorrow morning.) A major set back on the schedule (and budget) was the need to remove the sail and take it to the sail maker to fix 10 holes that got punched into the mainsail when I dropped a sharp object from the top of the mast. (Actually, this was not my proudest moment.)

One of these photos is Cirrus from above. Isn't she pretty?

Another recent project was the addition of a new Garmin 440 GPS-Plotter to supplement the Trimble system (whose screen is starting to cloud up). Much to our amazement it seems to be working fine below decks at the nav station without an external antenna. We will check it out when we get sailing again. SOON!

I'll try backing the boat into the slip the next time we go out so it will be easier to install and test the emergency rudder system. It is the same system as in previous years so we don't expect any problems.

The last of today's photos shows the replacement U-bolt for the starboard, spinnaker halyard block. The U-bolts went in without a hitch. Moo did a good job. The old ones lasted 37 years so these ought to do the job for awhile. (Of course a lot of the actual usage was more recent.)

That's it for today's blog. We should be sailing again in a couple days and that will be more fun than all these projects. I'll keep you posted.