Last weekend I had collected the necessities for a few small projects, though, and with the help of my air conditioned shop I checked a few more things off the list. I got the license plate mounted on the trailer, put the registration decals on the hull, and finally got a plug to fit the transom drain hole. The transom drain is awkward - the rudder hardware barely clears it on the outside, leaving no room for an exterior plug. On the inside there was a screw protruding from the bottom of the boat blocking access to the hole. The screw attaches the thin metal trim that runs down the hull centerline on the bottom. I carefully backed the screw out, cut it off shorter and reinstalled it, giving clearance for the hull plug from inside. I suspect that the drain actually runs above the waterline whilst sailing, but I don't want to ship a bunch of water trying to launch. I figure the plug keeps me dry while I learn the behavior of the boat. Come to think of it....I wonder if I should have sealed that little screw when I reinstalled it.....?
Lookin' legal:
The other project was a rear mast crutch for storage and transport. The boat arrived with the mast roped to the transom at the rear with a throwable seat cushion folded up to cradle it. It made it home that way but it wasn't nearly as secure as I'd like. Personally, I can't stand stuff moving around when I transport it. If I have a truck full of stuff I'm not happy until I can roll the truck over and be reasonably sure I won't lose anything. Overkill is just enough.
With that in mind I made some brackets from loose bolts I had in the shop welded to pieces of angle iron. These were then screwed to a nice piece of 4"x1" red oak and V cut in the top to match the mast cross section. A nice tight fit keeps the mast from rotating. Although the entire assembly will lift straight up (which could be problematic when the trailer hits a bump), a stiff bungee cord wrapped through the tiller hole in the transom and over the mast should keep things secure. There's still enough flex in the center of the mast that I may need to do something about a center support as well, at least for transport.
The bungee cord I need to secure the forward gear bags is on there way, along with enough cord to fix the spinnaker pole halyard. Not that we plan of flying the kite anytime soon with an inexperienced crew of two, but it should keep things a little more organized to go ahead and rerig it. I've also picked up two nice wooden paddles to serve as alternate propulsion. There's a small trolling motor on the other boat, but the traveler design on the transom of the Thistle would mean removing the motor and stowing it before sailing. Then there's the battery to deal with as well. I'm going to give the old school method a try instead. I mean, it kind of looks like a big canoe, right? It should paddle okay.....right? Not that I've ever paddled a canoe, but it can't be that hard. Right? Maybe I should file a float plan this time.
Getting very close to getting the hull wet now. Maybe we can catch a cool(er) morning soon to sojourn to the wee lake.
