Once the boat was painted, I rolled it out into the yard and put on all the hardware then raised the mast. I had the local cable riggers make new stays and had to purchase a new turnbuckle for the head stay too. Installing the sail was next. I slid it up the mast and onto the boom, only to find the bolt rope had shrunk, leaving a big belly of material next to the boom/mast join. With advice from Westcoast Sail Repair, I cut the rope at the tack, spliced in an extra 18" and slid the sail along, flattening it as much as I could. The sail still has far too much belly, but it is much better than it was!
Before committing the boat with sails to the water, I took it with only the motor to the lake. After only five minutes of sitting on calm water, enjoying my accomplishments, I discovered the gap between the hull and the raised floor was filling with water. Paddled back to the ramp and pulled it out. Gallons of water had seeped in.
I took the boat off the trailer and removed the center-board then poured water into the floor cavity. Didn't take long to see it dripping back out through the center-board slot. A day or so of drying out then I sanded the joints around the bottom of the slot then gouged out the softer wood and slathered the whole area with epoxy and covered it with a strip of fiberglass. Once that had set up, I sanded it smooth and made sure the centerboard would still slide up and down.
Next trip to the lake was with Diana at the helm while I handled the sheets and did the major shifting from side to side for balance. There wasn't much wind but it was very exciting to hear the gurgles,feel the boat move and respond to changes in sheets and tiller. Back at the ramp, I found we'd still shipped a litre or two of water.
Back in the shed, I extended the epoxy repairs to the corners, bottom to top of the center-board slot.
Returned to the lake with Manfred and the outboard too. I think our total carry-aboard weight was around 500 lbs. Enough to make the dinghy feel more like a barge. We motored out to the more open part of the lake and eventually got some sailing in. I sat on the rail now and again, but mostly our weight on the floor was enough to balance it. Back at the ramp, I still drained a litre or two from the cavity.
Yesterday, the sun came out again and brought a bit of wind too. I took the dinghy by myself to the lake and sailed back in forth in fairly light winds. The boat was much more lively when lightly loaded. At the ramp, I drained out only a couple of spoonsful.
Next jobs are to find those final leaks, replace the sail battens, and decide if the boat is a keeper and if so, maybe order new sails too.
