Rudder & Tiller

Yesterday I painted the rudder (first coat) and made a tiller -- the long handle connected to the rudder that steers the boat. I didn't have any clear instructions on how to make the tiller, so I did some research online and saw a variety of styles. So I decided to take the sturdy but yet easy-to-build rout. It's not necessarily pretty, but it will do the job.

The fork part of the tiller will go around the top part of the rudder and will pivot on a pin so I can raise and lower the handle to the desired height. I now just need to figure out how to attach the rudder to the boat...

Here are a couple photos of the boat in it's current state, the daggarboard on the wall, and the 4 new life jackets. Janell and I plan to get nicer life jackets for the two us. These standard orange boxy ones are just the cheep loaner life jackets for guests. :)

Building the Sail

Today I painted another coat of paint to the inside of the boat, made a few additions to the mast components, and built the sail! I'm so excited now! I could practically drop it in the water today and go sailing... but I do need to connect the rudder and finish getting the boat registered first.

To make the sail, I took a 12'x12' sheet of 3mil plastic and stretched it out on the garage floor, taping the corners down with duct tape. Then I measured out all the sides of the sail, and taped the rope into place. Then I folded the plastic over the rope and ran a layer of duct tape along the seam -- front and back.

Then I added reinforcement strips of duct tape within the sail area, and reinforced the corners. I'm quite impressed with how it turned out. It doesn't look bad at all, especially considering that it's just plastic and duct tape! .... :)

Thank You!

I just wanted to say a special Thank You to those of you who have been faithfully following my progress over the past 9 months. Your comments have been very encouraging to me and have kept me continually moving forward. It would have been a much longer process without you!

You have an open invitation to go sailing with me any time (once the boat is finished of course)! . :)

Boat Registration [part 2]

[Three weeks later...]

Woohoo! I now have the Hull Identification Numbers for my boat! Now I just need to swing by the DMV and finish up the registration process and get this thing out on the lake. I'm getting so close I can almost smell the fishy water. Mmmmmm.... :)

However, I still need to:

• make a sail
• install all the necessary hardware on the mast
• finish up & connect the rudder
• paint the final coat on the boat

...but this all shouldn't take but a couple days.

Boat Registration [part 1]

I just got off the phone with the Tennessee Wildlife Enforcement Agency (TWEA) and in typical government fashion I was transfered to a new person about 7 times (explaining why I'm calling each time) before I finally reached the correct person, only to get their voicemail!!! Grrrrrr!

Apparently to register a homemade boat (without a bill of sale) you have to go through their main office in Nashville. They assign you a hull number and then send the information to the Chattanooga office who then sends someone out to inspect the boat. Or maybe you have to go to them... not sure... Then after filling out all the required forms with them, you have to jump through the DMV's hoops (i think). *sigh*

[a couple hours later...]

I finally got a call from the guy in Nashville who emailed me a form to fill out. I did, and it is now in the mail. That wasn't too difficult. I just hope the rest of the registration process will be as painless!

And Then There Was Color

OK, so the maiden voyage hasn't happened yet...

But, I finally put a coat of color on the boat! It feels like it's getting so close now. I also painted the inside of the boat and the top of the bow. I'll post pictures of that after the paint dries and I can flip it over again.

I also cut out and glued the layers of plywood together to build the rudder. Now I just need to make the tiller (for the rudder) and make the sail... Oh, and register the boat.

P.S. I now also have life jackets!

Oh, and "happy 4th of July week" to all you Americans who care. In my previous post I mentioned that it was Memorial Day, so thought it was only fair to also mention the 4th in this one. :)