After the inspection, it was time again to work on the boat. This was another very busy weekend. The highlight of the weekend was to frame the emergency rudder to tun a regular rudder into a cassette type system. The rudder will need to slide into the cassette:

The cassette

The rudder can be seen here as the cassette is constructed:

The rudder

A lot of epoxy was used:

A fresh batch of epoxy

The frame is taking shape:

Almost done

A few good stainless screws and we are almost ready to go:

Closing the frame

Ready to test the rudder blade before glassing over the wood:

Does it fit?

Perfect fit!

We did a lot of other things such as:

1) Installing a new holding tank
2) Adding our sail number to the 135% jib:

Our sail number

3) Testing the new AIS Class B transponder
4) Cutting a piece of foam to create a new bunk in the salon
5) Routing the TV antenna coaxial from the mast: while the TV antenna is not a race requirement it must be noted that the admiral (spouse of the skipper/owner for those who don’t sail) is very supportive of the race effort. The TV antenna is a small reward for her support.
7) Changing the main sail halyard