Just added a new picture to the Bucket List page.  A cockpit, no less!     http://harryproa.com/?page_id=1173

In other Bucket List news there is now someone working on it part time.  The lee hull is almost ready for closing up.  The hull halves were not built using as much Intelligent Infusion as they would be now, so we had to add the bulkheads, ring frames and mast step, shape the foam bows and do some work on the joining flanges.  This was after the poor builder had to grind out the plumbing which I had put in without plastic under it in the rush to get it sealed up before I left.     Pictures so far are pretty ordinary, will post some decent ones when I have them.  

The rig has undergone some simplification.  

A single boom instead of a wishbone.  This decision was made a couple of days after i finished building the wishbone, which weighs 15 kgs.  The single boom will be less than 5.  

The mast no longer rotates.  This saves the cost of the bearings (couple of hundred bucks each) and more importantly the work getting the mast round and the bearings accurately aligned.  This is much easier when you have the filament winding machine to use as a lathe, but is still work which has to be done.  

There is no sail track or sail slides.  This is another signficant weight and cost saving as well as a few more things that cannot go wrong as they are not there.  The sail is attached to the mast using straps, an idea which started when I was on Blind Date moored alongside a Dutch barge with it's mast hoops. 

A single line, no moving parts, light weight, fail safe halyard lock which works at each reefing point.  This solves the problem of the luff loosening as the mast bends and allows a much thinner halyard.

The rudders are shafted rather than in cassettes.  They can still be lifted for balance and shallow water, but only 600mms/24", leaving 400mm/16" in the water.  It may end up being less as the rudder depth looks right, but are deeper than science suggests.  They can be  tilted to get them clear of the water.  This is simpler and more robust than the cassettes.