Centreboard finished

Slab of 20lb of  lead ready to be inserted.  Note now much of the hull has
been sanded back

And lead installed.  Centreboard now ready to install.
We're still looking for the spreaders for our mast.

Chainplates on

We had the chainplates made up by our Boatyard, in 316 SS to our design.

We had previously cut the slots in the sheer clamp for them.
Then Noel made up some wooden blocks for them to fit inside the hull just below the sheer clamp.
Noel did a great job on this using what we call our "cool tool".

Noel does a neat job

Peek-a-booh.... Chainplate ready to take the standing rigging

Next, and nearly final, job: fit the mast and boom and running rigging.

LATER: Below, photo just in from Noel, a second-hand mast and boom from the yacht club:

A present from our Boatyard.  Second-hand Laser Mast and Boom
Still looking for the spreaders that go with this....

Lead Ballast Keel on

See this post first.

We had to fit the lead ballast keel to the hull while the boat was right side up.  We also had to make sure that there were no gaps between the lead keel and the hull.  To do this, we used the following technique: 

Put some baking paper on the hull to stop epoxy putty from sticking to it.  Then put lots of epoxy putty on the keel. 

Then push the keel up to the hull, using a car jack, enough that you get squeeze-out. 

Then leave the epoxy putty to harden overnight, now in the shape of the hull.  

Then lower the keel back down, take off the baking paper and then put more epoxy putty on the lead keel and push it back up to the hull with the car-jack and put the threaded 316 SS rod and nuts to tighten it onto the hull, through the holes we'd made by putting copper tubes in the mold.

Noel did all this on his own (while I was driving across Russia) for which I have great admiration.  Well done, Noel!

Step 1: epoxy putty on lead keel, baking paper on hull.  Push up against
the hull to make sure that the fit of the keel will be tight, after the epoxy
putty has set.  Leave overnight for putty to set

Step 2: the result.  Then, the baking paper is taken off
and new epoxy putty put on the lead keel to fit against
the hull

Step 3: Keel bolted onto hull

Result: nice tight fit.

Lead Ballast Keel unbound

Six weeks since my last post. Sorry 'bout dat. Part excuse: I've been "sailing" in a little car with three other sailing mates, over the steppes of Russia from Vladivostok to Moscow. That took up pretty much the whole of May.  Some photos here.

Meantime, our Xena boat captain, Noel, has been at work on jobs I left him with: (1) To add the lead ballast keel that we had forged, onto the our little Somes Sound. (2) To add the chainplates. (3) To get hold of the mast and boom that we're going to put on: namely a second-hand Laser rig.

Here's the result of item (1):

With the 1 1/2" pine we used and the lead not too hot
(because it was "stir-fried"), there was not much burning on
the mold and it came off quite easily, says Noel, including
the wood in the centreboard slot.  Here is the keel,
unbound, at the Royal HK Yacht Club, around 13 May.

And another photo of "Keel unbound", looking good..

Noel drilled down on the thru-holes we'd made in the keel by placing
copper tubes in the mold.   We needed to drill down to make countersink
space for the nuts for the 316 SS threaded rod (12mm and 10mm)