I can’t believe it’s August already - the last post was in May. Plenty has happened since then: lots of travel and a bit of boat work.
I’ll take this opportunity to show off some of the bigger jobs completed on Quijote. As noted in a previous post, the rigging was replaced. Cliff at Evergreen Rigging did a great job. The photos show the mast being worked on at the boat yard where a crane was used to lift it off the boat. All the mast electronics - lights, wind instruments, radar - have to be disconnected before the mast can come off. While doing that I discovered some corroded wires that I was able to clean up and fix a problem I’d been having with the radar. I love fixing stuff!
While re-rigging we also took the opportunity to upgrade the insulated backstay and move the lower end higher out of reach, making it less likely that anyone will grab the antenna and be shocked while transmitting messages with the SSB radio. If you have no clue what I’m talking about, it’s not important (unless you’re the one holding on to the backstay while we're transmitting).
The third photo shows the wind vane installation, sans control unit and rudder. I hope to play with the wind vane a little on the upcoming trip. I’ll try to post some photos of it in action. It’s designed to steer the boat at a constant angle to the wind.
A couple more things that have been a focus of my attention lately are the provisioning and modifications to the spinnaker pole. The provisioning was described in an early post and is mostly complete. I have all but the perishables purchased and stowed for next Sunday’s departure.
The spinnaker pole connection to the mast was improperly designed, according to the gentleman who did my rig survey. So I replaced the pole end and the car that slides up and down the mast with a bayonet style that allows the pole to be rotated and keeps it from being damaged by twisting forces. It’s hard to describe, but the bottom line is it works really well now.
I still have the control unit for the wind vane to install and I need to verify that we can send and receive email via SSB, but when that and the last of the provisioning is done I think we’ll be ready to head north. Broughtons or Bust!
Cliff and Terry working on the mast
The boom truck lowers the mast back onto the boat
The new windvane without the rudder or controller - essentially just a rotating shaft anchored to the stern
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