Rigging
I had to pause working on Louve for a few weeks due to quite unexpected travel. Still somehow related to boatbuilding, giving a wider perspective onto scale of my tiny boat…
Back to business: mast and yard got their final coats of varnish and paint at the extremities.
I stepped the mast to find exact spot for protective lacing. When I was cutting mast partners’ opening I took into account leather padding and lacing string thickness. Verification if I was correct came now.
All good so I lace the mast at partners height. Two strings in-laced will be used to immobilize halyard when yard is not attached.
Mast stepped again, into mast partners with added protective leather.
Mast laced in place, lacing fastened on port-side belaying rod. Starboard rod will be used for halyard.
Sits nice and tight. Adding the halyard. I will splice it properly after all configuration is done, for now I just tied a knot.
Now the yard: I measure a gap between wedges where the lifting loop will sit.
Wedges got laced in place - but not glued nor screwed. I may decide to shift them later on, to adjust point of sail but for now they sit as stated in the drawing.
Loop spliced.
Mounted on the yard. Wedges partially laced already but it will be laced longer on the short side of the yard - this side is rubbing against the mast so lacing will act as chafe protection.
Plans state that the opening in the foredeck shall be somewhere midway between the mast and bow. Pictures of other Ilurs have this opening shifted slightly to the port so I cut mine the same way.
To delay the moment of the first-time sail rising I first prepare reef ropes for all three reefing lines.
Sail equipped so it can go up, finally!
It happened to be very windy day today so I placed the trailer head-to-wind. Still the sail was catching and filling with the wind and the boat “trailer-sailed” a few meters when I was not looking!
I chose to shift the halyard onto internal of the mast ring, otherwise it was difficult to fully rise the sail. I also see that I need to correct the sail-to-yard lashing and move the sail further towards the peak.
Time to rig the rudder. Rudder hoisting line and rubber counter-line.
I’m not sure I like this construction but I’ll verify how it works for me while sailing.
As a last point for today I made leather padding in sculling notch. I managed to form the leather to fit inside the notch without a need to cut the outside flaps. Nailed with short copper nails.
