After the 9 to 5, I headed to the shop to begin the process of fabricating Biscuit's mainsheet traveler T-track base. This teak base will be scribed to match the camber of the poop deck and allow for a horizontal installation, allowing the mainsheet traveler car to transit from port to starboard and back as the captain adjusts his main to maintain the best sail shape.

I began by combing through my teak inventory to select the right piece of stock - a rough sawn board measuring an 1" in thickness by a width of 2.25" and running more length than needed. With the teak selected I made my way to Biscuit with the T-track to lay out its location and position it on Biscuit's centerline. That done, I then started the process of dimensioning the teak to final measurements. The length of the teak board was then cut to allow for about 5/8" of run on each side of the T-track itself. With the traveler base dimensioned in all proportions, I then began the process of shaping the base to fit the convex surface of Biscuit's deck. I first applied a layer of protective tape across the deck, and then scribed the convex shape onto the teak base. The meat of the evening's work was made up by the iterative process of shaping the teak base to fit tightly across the deck. I started with a rough cut with the jigsaw, and then moved to the small 5" sander, and finished the process by hand-sanding with a small block. Numerous trips from the sawhorses to the boat and back defined this step in the fabrication of the mainsheet T-track traveler base.

I finally achieved the fit I was working toward, and then finished the piece with rounding over the edges and sanding through to 240-grit paper. Perhaps a bit more work on softening the base, but she's essentially ready to be mounted onto the deck - this will be through-bolted with countersunk machine screws that first pass through the T-track, through the teak base, and then through the deck itself. The machine screws will also secure backing plates and finished with washers and nylon locking nuts.

Total Hrs: 2