Big Day II - Official Launch, Party, Sailing

I had no idea how touching the launch of a boat can be.

A lot of friends and relatives, a party, 2 experienced sailors (none of them has my name) and a beautiful Alpine lake, the Walchensee which offers great sailing conditions and the perfect stage for the launch.

The boat now has a name - Sylvia, the name tags didn´t arrive in time though...

Dryrun on the rig...

The builder receives some christening too...

The topsl needs adjustment - point where the halyard is attached needs to go further down....

A good varnish is dog-proof...

and she SAILS!!!!

the wrinkles need to go away but this is an easy thing ...

The Big Day I - oars only, no sails, no party (but a decent pike), "silent Pre-launch"

Newly acquired trailer in action. Works.

nice boat in front of nice panorama

a very personal moment...

No sail, but two (!) umbrellas. 100+ Fahrenheit, 37 Celsius... As if the belaying pin holder had been designed for it...

Multi-purpose-boat

Oars... and other miscellaneous things

really close to the finishing line...

all the spars readily varnished... taking photos of a mast is really a challenge..

Oars made from Ash

... I will not succeed in a second career as a tailor but it does the job...

one thing I really want to share is the center bord "bearing": It took to standard 25 mm diameter bronze bearings (cf. post on CB) and a 25 mm stainless steel bolt. Bolt receives some slots for O-ring sealings. Some grease and is slided in. So far 100% water tight.

...and paint and fittings...

now this is the real fun part. As said, time is running (party had been already organized) hence I haven´t really documented the detailed steps anymore

funny contrast...

After I was a bit sceptical at the beginning about the "British racing green" (suggested by the other half) I must say it really fits very nicely!

I should have taken more photos of making the fittings. In brief: a lot of work on the lathe, some bending with a good gas torch and hard-soldering to attach the hinges to the brackets (?)

Test-fit of the rudder

belaying nails in the making...

Varnish!!!

the first of many (7) layers of Epifanes DD 2K PUR varnish. This is tedious.

More layers... it´s just amazing how that Mahogany shines..

A-team to flip the boat over for hull painting

done... A-team membersecuring the hull...

Details of Rub- and Toerail, holders for oar-holders

just a bunch of pictures further illustrating the progress. Unfortunately, pictures become more and more scarce as I get closer to the finishing line. Patience is not a key character feature of mine, thus photo-time is being sacrificed for building ...