16.7m long, with 80 kgs hanging off the end of the 4m boom and the max bend was 280mm, some of which is due to slop in the joins.   This is a pretty stiff mast due to the lack of taper on the top section.  If the sail hangs to leeward of the mast (similar cross section to an inflatable kite surfing kite), this will not be a problem, could be an advantage.  Telescoping means it will not be drag when reefed so much larger sail areas are possible.  Added advantage is that it can be lowered to get under bridges, giving me many more mooring options around here.

Bend testing the beams was a little more difficult due to higher loads, and 600mm bury on 7.5m lengths.  It involved resting the beam on a wall, tying one end to a tree and hanging off the other end.  The plywood support was not up to the job and started failing at half the design load.  The tree was also looking a bit frail, so this will have to wait until the boat is assembled.

I have finished the tiller extensions, tillers and universal joins. The tillers and the universals are built from tow and pvc conduit. Cheap, strong and no slop.  The rudders, tillers, mounts and extensions weigh 20.5 kgs each.   

Most of it has been painted.  This could have taken months of sanding and filling, followed by multiple layers of expensive sprayed on paint.  Or, a quick grind, then hit it with 2 coats of paving paint.  Pretty easy decision, especially as I am under no illusions about the probable need to make adjustments and repairs.  

I missed the pre Xmas trucking window, so the lee hull comes up in January.  Could/should be sailing in February, which makes a nice change from "sailing by Xmas", which is what it has been for the last couple of years.  

There will be a video of the mast raising and some photos of various bits  and pieces on the blog http://harryproa.com/?p=424 and Facebook pages in the next couple of days.  Steinar is in Australia for the next couple of months and is re launching the web page as I write.  While he is here, we will be putting Bucket List together, sailing it, getting the design backlog updated, working on some interesting new stuff (power boats and a sailing ferry/freighter for inter-island trading), checking out some interesting boats locally (mostly electric drive stuff) and getting some kite surfing time.  

In other news, the German Solitarry has been sold and is being converted to a kite proa.  Launching next week.  More on this as it happens.

Happy new year to all.

regards,

rob