Calm evening: mainsail rigging, autopilot mount

Calm evening, no wind.

I went to the harbor to rig the main sail - so much easier to work in these conditions, no drama with sail being blown around the deck.

That went rather quickly.
I’m still not perfectly happy with how the sail carts glide on the mast. Ideally they should glide with ease and require no force to rise or lower the sail. It is not the case yet. My Teflon carts are gliding fine, I suspect that original, nylon carts are causing too much friction.

I’m thinking of rebuilding them to accommodate ball bearings, like in Selden system. What I would like to accomplish is that when the halyard is released the sail falls down on deck , rapidly. This way, especially as I mostly sail alone, I would have more time to maneuver in tight spaces - instead of spending time dragging the sail down by hand. That forces me to leave or enter the harbor on engine as the sail needs to be taken down long before we go in.

I fabricated final version of autopilot mount.
A few minutes on the lathe and stainless steel rod becomes a proper, stiff mount.

Rather minimalistic and unobtrusive design - and it sits firmly in place.

Dry-fitting the device for measurements of the second mount, on the other end.

It got chilly at night, I had to wear winter jacket.

Job done for tonight so I packed my tools and went home to crack a beer.