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| An expensive fiberglass flowerpot. |
The first time I looked at my boat in around two weeks she had plant life growing from her centerboard slot. How this came to be is quite a story. During her last time out at Big Arm
Esmerelda struck the bottom hard while still at the dock, forcing the centerboard through the slot and cracking the board in the process. The vessel was for all intents and purposes unusable.
However with the help of The Typesetter, we are now bringing my Lido back to sailing shape once more. The first task was to get a piece of wood suitable for a new centerboard. Mahogany was chosen as that was the wood used in the original construction. The basic idea was to recreate the board we had minus the dents, dings and general abuse the old board had received.
First step was using a plane to get the general shape of the foils right. This requires a bit of omph and when using a work table that is not nailed down can get exciting for the onlookers. After marking out the general dimensions and finding them class legal shaping began. It took about 30 minutes of planning a side to get the shapes rough. Now comes the sanding and the varnishing. And the varnishing. And the more varnishing.
Not to shabby for an hours worth of work. Still have the final shaping and riveting to go. Many would buy a new centerboard but why buy it when you can build it? Also on the list of things to accomplish is adding a mast carry set up like that seen on Lido #53 which serendipitously ran into at my work and changing the trailer lighting to a light bar. The motor should be ready for testing in the next two weeks as well. If all goes as planned,
Esmerelda should be back in action, and out of The Typesetters back yard in two weeks. Here is hoping!
