Timeline, what deadline

Originally I thought I would be done the refit by the end of May so that we could go cruising, and then I was content with the end of June, and after today, I'll be surprised if we ever sail again. Ughhhh

Ok, not that bad, but what a slow day. Monday I cut up the cradle because it needs to be modified to fit properly, Tuesday we picked it up and did some shopping, Wednesday we worked on landscaping, so nothing boat related, and we bought another piece of property, so that took some time. Then today I decided to tackle the mast. Serena is laid up again with her herniated disk, so I worked on it alone, not that the extra pair of hands would have made any difference.

It took me 6 hours to get the conduit riveted in the mast. OMG was it a pain. I drilled out several of the rivets, several times before I finally got it done. The halyards were a mess, tangled all around everything, so I eventually had to remove them from the mast, except for the staysail one, because I couldn't figure out how to get it back in there. Then I installed and removed it one more time, because, wouldn't you know it, I got it wrapped around the staysail halyard. Then there were screws, and parts of the mast in the way. I eventually got most of the rivets in. There are about 6 or 8 in the whole length that didn't get put in right, and they are spaced every 18", so it should be lots to hold it. And to top it off, I was laying in the dirt the whole time working on the mast upside down. In other words, a freakin' nightmare.

Now I need a second person to help put the halyards back in, so they don't get tangled up. It'll have to wait, I will try it by myself tomorrow, but I am not confident that I will have any luck. Who knows, maybe I'll get something figured out.

I am trying to get the mast up so that I can have the weekend off to work on the landscaping, but I don't think that is going to happen either. Slow, slow, slow..... I know that everything will eventually get done, but delays are depressing. Only good news is that the landscaping at the house is well over half done, and when its finished, the only thing left will be the boat. I can't wait for that.

Oh, found out the leak in the bilge is not a leak. I don't know why, but for some reason when the boat was put in the water, a teaspoon of water leaked into the bilge from the drain plug, and then nothing else. Totally weird, but may have had something to do with the shape of the hull. The boat is designed to be in the water, not on land, although its built on land, go figure. But, the hull shape changes a little between the two, and there is an adjustment period. Even the door to the head does not shut properly when the boat is on the hard, but in the water you could close it by blowing on it. F magic I guess.

Might get some pictures tomorrow, of some progress. Pictures of rivets wouldn't have excited anyone. Until later.

Rob