A long needed update 10/3/09

Its been awhile since i've last posted any text, so its about time. Looking back on the pictures up on the site, its clear that a lot has happened, specifically, the launching of the boat. Before that, we spent the week working under Alfie, as Brendan, Drew, and Dave focused on the new tender they're building. With Alfie, Oliver and I were busy installing cleats, winches, and blocks around the boat and on the two masts and booms that arrived during the week before the launching. We also installed and secured the pulpits and the stanchions around the boat. Small teak blocks needed to be made specially for each stanchion and pulpit base. The sail track for the spars was screwed on and on thursday the crane arrived to step the main mast. Only weighing roughly 130 lbs, it might have been possible to step it under human power, although its length would have been awkward to handle. The mizzen on the other-hand, was easier to step with two people then a fourteen foot dinghy's mast.

Oliver and I gave the deck a final sanding with 120 grit to remove the rest of the dried glue, and any scuff marks left in the deck since it was installed months ago. Then the clouds came and spurting rain over the boat, which revealed the most beautiful colors in all the wood throughout the boat.

Meanwhile, Alfie was busy installing as much PVC plumbing as he could.

The launch date, needless to say, was a spectacular event. It was held on Saturday, September 12 and under light rains three beautiful speeches were given, and she was christened first by Bill Eddy, an interim minister with some boat building experience of his own, and finally by Sandi Holland with a wonderful smash of a champaign bottle. Once in the water and with the crowds departed, we really got to stand back and see the boat in the water and although she float a little high in the bow, we were all very happy.

That monday, I used my boat to tow the MC-30 through the bridge and out across Nantucket Sound to Alfie's pier in Nantucket. Everything went smoothly and she is resting safe on Nantucket where we continue to work on her, putting on the finishing touches.



Since the launch date, I had a feeling that the project of recording the work done to STARRY NIGHT was complete. But it is not. It has been a lot of work updating this site, but it has been satisfying to me over the last year, and I will do my best to get a few more updates in until she is sailing under her own power.


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