This is taking forever!

I've been working on the centerboard  and case for quite a while.  There are several small little jobs that go into getting them built and installed.  I've taken some small sidetracks just to get a little something else done.

I've cut some holes in the bottom of the boat so I could dry-fit the case.  It all worked fine, so I went ahead and epoxied it together.

I still need to drill the holes for the pivot pin through the epoxy that I cast into a larger hole. Then it can be mounted into the boat.  I will still need to make the case top pieces.  I also shaped the centerboard.  I managed to dull up my rasp, so I broke down and bought an inexpensive angle grinder.  It helped the remainder of the job go much quicker, and will come in handy when I need to shape the rudder.

 

 The silver stuff inside is lead to weight it down.  I went back and forth on this but finally decided to add the lead.  This way I don't have to use a quick release cleat to avoid damage in a grounding (likely in the shallow waters I shall be plying) and it will give me some ballast down low for stability.

I wanted to avoid mounting lead because it would take a bunch of time and incur some additional cost as I am not currently set up to melt lead.  So instead I sourced some ingots that I can drop straight in and embed in epoxy.

In an effort to get something done I made and installed the mast step, mast partner and added some belaying pins. The belaying pins were actually from an old paper towel holder that was here when we moved in.  I'll need to oil them and I don't know how long they will last, but they look great and were free.