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She’s really coming together now!

I’m very glad I spent last month making her ready to launch and so am not anxiously antifouling and sealing underwater fittings at this stage. I have instead been spending most of my time on woodwork.

It has consisted of fitting teak/holly flooring, interior trim and cockpit planking.

Other jobs have included the ongoing gathering of the mass of bits and bobs required for fundamental operations: mooring, anchoring, comms, safety, cooking, navigating, etc etc. Sailing!

I’m hoping to finish fitting the interior trim, paint cupboard doors, oil all the woodwork, fit latches on all the cupboards, make 6 drawers…, and fit the standing and running rigging all in time for the launch! We will see how that goes.

The light, when it appeared at the end of the tunnel, was a glimmer of hope and excitement, but as it now draws near I see its truer form, that of a fast approaching cliff-edge. And the momentum I’ve cultivated through this process now forces me forward towards it much faster than I feel comfortable.

Having said that, the launch date is booked! The morning of the 5th of June in Portland. (Give me a shout if you’d like more details).

And while on the face of it I appear to be on track, I’m simultaneously feeling my world spinning. For I found safety and security in long dark months of work, comfort in my daily trials and tribulations for they were mine alone, and peace in the knowledge that I was on my way to the sea. Yet now as I see the sea before me, a sea I have sailed my whole life! it feels not like a natural progression, but a great leap into the unknown.

Despite my trepidations I am almost there. The gas, water, bilge pumps, mast fittings, and Windvane are all ready to go! Shes also been recently anti-fouled.

So the remaining jobs to get her launch ready is to touch up antifoul under the trailer supports, get the rudder back on, and fit the new running and standing rigging onto the mast, ready to be stepped.

I am also planning more woodwork, some of which is essential and some not so. New floor, galley seat, companionway step, bulkhead trim, more painting etc. is all in the works.

Not long now!!

At long last all the electrics are in. It’s been an education!

Wiring the boat from scratch was a daunting prospect, and one I approached with near total ignorance. It involved a lot of reading and researching, and a good few existential crises, but became fairly straight forward and systematic once I had chosen and sourced all my materials and familiarised myself with stripping, crimping and soldering.

Below is a list of instruments and appliances fitted:

• VHF Radio
• Log and depth reader
• AIS Receiver
• AIS Alarm Computer
• Radar Alarm Computer/receiver
• USB charger
• Battery monitor
• Interior lights
• Deck nav lights
• Tricolour/anchor lights
• VHF/AIS antenna and Radar receiver
• 2×40 Watt solar panels
• Solar charge controller
• DC-DC charger controller

I am now trying to tick off the remaining jobs to make her ready to be launched. These involve the following:

• Bilge pumps
• Gas system
• Water system
• Fitting the log/depth readers
• Chain pipe
• Anode
• Antifoul
• Wet fitting rudder
• Engine work
• Running rigging
• Windvane
• Mast fittings
• U-bolts and jack lines
• Finish and secure tiller

I’ll then have however long left to make a start on inessential jobs like interior trim and extra insulation before the planned launch date of the first week in June. Not long now!