Registration, Rudder and Tiller

Woohooo! My boat is officially registered and legal to be out on the open water! With the registration process and rudder completed, it's essentially finished!

On Friday I left work early and swung by the Tag & Title office. After waiting in line for about 20 minutes with people who were standing just a little bit too close to me, I finally was able to do my registration paperwork and pay the tax fees - $2. Since it's a homemade boat, there's actually no sales tax to pay! The $2 was to cover the processing fees. :)

So then I had to mail in a check for $28 along with the registration papers to get my 3-year boat license and registration card. But until then I can still legally go boating. I just have to keep my registration receipt with me. And again I say, "Woohooo!" . :)

On Sunday I finished building & painting the rudder and tiller. I had to fabricate some kind of hinge mechanism for the rudder which I made from pieces of metal strips which I bent into shape with a vice and a hammer. It was tough work, but it turned out very well!

I then attached nylon rope cleats to the sides of the boat, and some metal rings to the back of the boat. The rings are to either tow my little inflatable raft behind me, or to tie the boat down during transportation.