Day 23

At last spring has arrived and today we officially recommence the big boat project! Just like a rusty machine that has sat for a while, things were hard to start moving. Disorganized, routines forgotten, then remembered after a few mistakes, and most of all, breaking out of the "winter comfort zone" for us.
The main long weekend agenda included setting up our new tarp, priming the whole boat, and putting in the aft stem-bar and a support across the keel. This year we would no longer be able to use the tent we built last year as once the boat is turned over, the tent frame would have to be much higher, and would be very unstable in the wind. So we decided to make two 'A' frames one at each end of the pad, and stretch a steel cable between the two to support the tarp hanging below from hooks. ( See photo to the right )	The new tent!
This way once the boat is turned over, the tarp will just hang over the sides and could be weighted or tied down. When not in use, it could be pulled back like a giant shower curtain. The 'A' frames we made by straightening out the chain-ling poles we used last year and bundling them together in threes , two high, thus making them about 16 feet high. ( After the poles were dug into the ground a bit ) The cable stretches some 60 feet across but is quite strong. The base we attached to the groung via another cable pinned down to below ground level in 5 places with 3 foot steel fence posts.

Day 23:
Put up 'A' frames. Set up new tarp. Grinding and priming. Made transom frame. 10 hours

Tent needs re-enforcing!	For the first night it seemed it would do just fine as the wind was blowing fairly strong and it was handling it ok. The next night however, as luck would have it, there was a wind storm. Several of the gromments at the base tore out. I guess we'll have to put in some re-enforced grommets as they are at the clew, tack, and head on a sail... Oh well it'll be good practice!
I spent much of the day making a 'mock' transom out of spare steel we didn't use for the radius sections, in the form of a frame. This was so we may possibly get an idea of where to trim the stringers. Gena did some grinding and priming and gardening while waiting for the frame to be completed. Then things got complicated, so we quit for the day.