Early March

Still too cold to do any serious painting, so I have worked on the masts etc. Spray painted them a shade of gold then attached the little brackets and blocks that will raise and control the sails. On one of the rare sunny days, I pulled the boat into the yard, installed the masts and rigged the sails just to get some incentive to carry on through the gloom of late winter rains. The mainsail here has a huge crease in it, but that disappeared when the downhaul was tightened. I also spent a day playing with some cleats I read about at Duckworks magazine. I will need quite a few ties to secure the bunt of the sail when reefed and ties to make the reef itself. This picture shows one of the cleats I made. The 'K' shape seems to be well balanced and it secures firmly and unties instantly!