Special and Back Order Pacing

 Things have been moving slow in the boat studio as the arrivial of needed special order and out of stock materials takes months.  The past few episodes have been building to the "finial" assemblies:

No proper boat is without a mast!  The mast standing rigging required a number of special order fittings before the mast could be stepped.  A stainless steel forestay cable runs through the jib furlier foils to support the mast.  Sta-Lok fittings on each forestay end provide clevis attachment points.  Sta-Lok fittings compress the wire strands between cone shaped surfaces to acheive a grip.  No special tools are required.  In friction we must trust for a standing mast.

The four shrouds are made of dyneema synthetic line.  The shroud lengths are not given by the plans, but good approximations were made by measurement and calulation.  Each shroud is composed of a longer upper shroud supporting the mast head and a lower shroud section attached to the hull shear.  Several turns of a smaller diameter dyneema lash the upper and lower shroud sections together.  

The distance between the upper and lower shrouds, along with a forestay turnbuckle allow adjustment of the mast rake.  This rake determines what the boat will do when the tiller is released.  It is desirable that the boat turns into the wind and stops when the tiller is released, if not the mast should be raked more aft.

The burgundy horizonal spar projecting horizontally from the mast is the gaff.  The gaff will slip into a sleeve in the main sail's head.   

A temporary gin pole is installed at the mast foot to facilitate steping the mast.  A line attaches to the mast head and passes over the gin pole's top.  A come along attaches to this line to supply a pulling force to raise the mast.

At long last, the backordered barbeque has arrived and attached to a fitting on the "after" crossbeam.  The barbeque must be removed from the fitting while underway as the barbeque's position interfers with the tiller's range of motion.

The boarding ladder is lowered to a position just above the water's surface.  This provides a comfortable space to sit or stand while tending the barbeque.  At anchor the barbeque's heat and smoke will be downwind from the cockpit given the aft location.

A major milestone has been passed with the (mast) standing rigging assembly.  In a few weeks the (sail control) running rigging components should arrived for installation.  None of these items are special or back ordered.  The boat will then be disassembled to complete painting/finishing of the cockpit and various other items.  

The next major hurdle is to fabricate the boat lift and complete the slip modifications.  I'm experiencing difficulties in identifying someone to do this work  that I lack the equipment and skills to complete.