The Rest of Boat Works Stuff

When we left off last time, the centerboard had made it into the boat, but was propped up by a timber.

This of course would not do for the long term-

or even the short term.

(The need to get back on the trailer)

It was necessary to provide a way to raise, or lower the thing as needed.

So a Temporary Winch Arrangement was provided.

This would serve while the rest of the work on the boat continued.

This pix shows what was finally put together.

But several earlier attempts were not as successful due to the weight of this massive piece of steel.

This winch is what will be used when finished, but probably not in this exact set up.

The final arrangements will be made as the boat is finished up.

But this will work for now.

All that was left now was to get her back onto the trailer.

This of course was the reverse process of taking her off.

And eventually accomplished.

The Fuzz would like to thank everyone involved, for letting him observe.

He does have a bit of interest in the subject.

Who knows?

Perhaps someday he may be involved in these things himself-

But probably not on this scale!

More Boat Works Stuff

We left our last post with the Boat Guys breaking for beer and burgers.

But now it was another day, with a big job ahead.

Cinderella had to get off her trailer somehow.

But these guys had a plan.

The plan involved supporting her with "Poppets"-

And a lot of patience.

(An example of a Poppet)

The  patience comes in because these nifty little stands will need to be placed between the cross members on the trailer;

Which means, that the trailer can only be moved as far as the next cross member.

At which point...

The whole thing must be let back down...

And the poppets moved back to the next section.

The process is repeated until the trailer can be pulled clear.

Now it was time to get to the centerboard-

which was the reason for all of this!

A template had been made;

And now it was used to determine exactly where the hole for the mounting pin needed to be drilled.

Everything had to be lined up perfectly and drilled through the solid oak keel.

The pin for the centerboard had been specially made with a flange to help secure it.

It needed to be inset into the keel.

Meanwhile, another hole had been dug for the centerboard.

Now the centerboard was raised into position in the centerboard trunk.

(Note the 2x6 being used to lever the 3/4 thick solid steel centerboard into place- that thing was heavy!)

Then the pin was installed, and the centerboard raised and propped up with a timber.

So far- so good!

But this post is getting a bit long-

Maybe it's best to break off for now.

To be continued....

At the Boat Works

It was getting to be time for The Fuzz to leave the coast.  After all, there were plenty of projects waiting for him back in the woods.

Checking the weather predictions, The Fuzz saw one day of good weather, and then rain ahead.

So he strapped his pack back on the bike and headed inland.

The Fuzz was fortunate to be able to break up the trip again with an overnight stop with family at Durham.

But this time there was a lot going on in the Boatyard.

When he got there, he found work in progress on Cinderella.

A friend had driven down from Michigan to help install the centerboard in her.

This would be a major undertaking since the boat would need to be removed from the trailer to do it.

And as Cinderella is considerably larger than your average sailboard, this was not a simple matter.

But the first job involved installing the rudder.

This also needed to be done from below.

But the boat could not be safely raised high enough, so a little extra space was created.

If you look closely, you will notice how the rudder is setting in a small hole.

This worked out fine.

Here's a look at the bottom end of the shaft.

The metal piece needed to be 

precisely lined up and fitted to the keel.  Here you can see it clamped into place before drilling for mounting

 holes.

And mounted.

Later these bolts will be replaced with something more saltwater friendly.

One more pix with the rest of the rudder attached.

This part can swing up, which is a handy feature in North Carolina's shallow waters.

Next time, The Fuzz will address the rest of the project;

Somehow getting 2½ tons of boat off of a trailer-

without leaving the boat shed!

Autumn Bike Trip

With the colder weather closing in, The Fuzz decided that this might be his last shot at a motorcycle trip for the season.

He thought a trip to the coast might be good, and since there is family there, he could have a visit- and a bike trip.

The destination was Wilmington, NC.

Some readers might have been following the news lately, and if so, they will be aware that the weather has been a bit extreme down there as of late.

But since the worst of things seemed to be in South Carolina, The Fuzz figured it might be worth a shot, although he did delay the trip 1 day to wait for things to clear up a bit.

And so with the sun finally breaking through here in the woods, he headed out on the first leg of his ride.

The first stop was in Durham (also family) which broke up the ride a little and made things a bit easier on The Fuzz's butt.

As he moved to the east, he rode back into the clouds-

and even a touch of rain.

But the weather "experts" has predicted that this would be gone in the morning.

And sure enough, it was.

So after a good night's rest, Our Fuzz was back on the road, headed for the coast.

About half way there, he rode back into the clouds.

But there was no more actual rain, and he made it into Wilmington safe and dry.

He spent the next day just kicking back, and later rode into town to check out the scene downtown on Front Street.

The last time he was there he ran into the Azalea Festival, but this time, there was not all that much going on.

He did see a couple of cool bikes though.

The first was some kind of Honda.

But he had no clue on this other.

Then he grabbed some lunch and a couple of beers at a German restaurant.

Whilst in town he found this cool little Tardis for His Sweetie who is a big Doctor Who fan.

The next morning, the weather was still fine.

So after a stop for coffee and a bite of breakfast, The Fuzz rode up US 17 toward Topsail Island to see if it was still there.

Fortunately, it was-

Although there had been a bit of the storm there.

This section of road was still closed.

But there was a detour around it.

The beach was not particularly crowded that day.

But there was a bit of fishing going on.

Things were pretty quiet out there.

After hanging out on the beach a bit The Hungry Fuzz rode back to Surf City for some lunch.

(and beer)

Then it was time to ride back to the city.