Overdue tasks

With unending bad weather, I made time to shave down the centerboard a bit so it sits into the case better. It was a little snug before.

I had made keel shoes and now it is time to put a curve in the piece that attaches to the stem. I used a torch to gently heat and add curve to the front.

The roller on the front of the trailer was removed and replaced with a nicer bow "V" made of rubber. I added a piece of leather just to keep the boat from having black marks on it and to give a little cushion to the part.

I had earlier removed the jib cleats and made up a lift block for them. they are screwed from the underside and epoxied in place. This will keep the rope from chaffing the spray rail and to make handling the rope easier.

With a break in the nasty weather I towed the Pathfinder to a shop and finally got to fixing the mess I made with the deck and the blue top plank last year. The deck and top plank was sanded, as was the hardwood trim. After a wipe down the deck got a coat of paint and so did the top plank. It looks much better than last year. The poor touch up I had done was a source of irritation for me since the launch a year ago. Now that too is out of the way. Pictures to be taken and posted soon of that.

Not just yet

We have had a non winter here on the east coast of Newfoundland, and have gotten somewhat used to a mild spring. I've had several BBQ suppers and even had my company eat out on the deck on these nice days.

But.... this is Newfoundland and well... weather patterns change. I had snow on my boat and car this morning and the forecast for the next week looks a little dismal.

 No outdoor work on PIKAKE for the next week. There's a few small items to work on that i'll add to the blog, and I'll start planning some trips to areas of the island that I have not seen before.

http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pages/nl-24_metric_e.html

I've been busy building a cradle for lifting the boat from the trailer. So much so that I neglected to take any pictures of the process. I'll get to it this week. The cradle is built, the boat is off the trailer and the centerboard removerd and some minor work already done with it. Last year the centerboard used to bind a little when let down. I made it a bit to thick done near the lead slug. That is no longer a problem. I'll post some pictures of the mods this week.

In other news...

The gaff jaws have been completed. All thats needed is the rope with roller beads on the rear.

The rudder blade got a touch up and a coat of varnish for the summer. Note the color difference in the area that was inside the rudder case. UV rays have power for sure.

Summer approaches and a fair bit left to do.