With the family enjoying the pool, I got my hands dirty on Biscuit....what the boat needs, right!? I managed to tuck away the work on the rails just prior to the final couple coats of varnish. In fact, nearly all of Biscuit's newly fabricated brightwork is at the ready for finish varnishing - that bit of work just prior getting back into the water!

The bulk of time today was spent cleaning and taping off the rails to protect painted surfaces from having to endure acetone clean up. Taping is a chore to be sure, but I'm always thankful for the task when it comes to clean up after caulking with Sitkaflex, or any polysulfide bedding compound. I masked on the underside of the rub rail to hull border, as well as the seam between the rub rail and toe rail. At this point, after a quick acetone wipe, I caulked these seams with mahogany colored Sitkaflex 291-lot using my finger to firmly press and smooth down the bedding compound. From starboard aft to the bow and then finishing at port aft, I applied and smoothed the bedding compound as I went, and then removed the protect tape to reveal a nice and clean seam line protecting against water ingress. I also managed to caulk the companionway trim and the forward portion of the coamings (coaming return blocks). I had intended to complete the installation of the jib tracks on the toe rails, but given the caulking I decided to pivot to the mast.

More specifically having to do with the mast, I moved on to modifying the masthead. Biscuit's owner wanted to include a topping lift for the boom, so a block was needed at the masthead to turn the topping lift line back down along the length of the mast to a small cleat or padeye to capture the topping lift. It would ultimately turn through another block on the boom end to a cleat, and be adjusted within the cockpit. Having the cleat at the masthead required a spacer to have the small block stand off the masthead enough to not interfere with the dimensions of the mast itself. I fabricated this stand-off spacer out of Starboard, and shaped it to the profile of the block itself. It would be able to swing, or pivot, by one fastener through the masthead (securing it to the masthead), a second fastener would lock the lower portion of the block to the Starboard spacer.

I marked the fastener locations onto the Starboard spacer and drilled these out on the benchpress drill for #10 stainless steel machine screws. I then located the one fastener for the masthead and predrilled that in order to tap for a #10 machine screw. After tapping the masthead, I beveled for the fastener head located on the inside lower portion of the Starboard spacer - allowing it to swing across the surface of the masthead unencumbered. I quickly assembly of the block and spacer with the lower fastener done , I then attached it to the masthead with second fastener - securing both with locking washers and locking nylon nuts. I used a plastic washer between a stainless steel washer and the aluminum masthead on the masthead machine screw to isolate the dissimilar metals. That would wrap up Memorial Day at the shop. The completion list is short and excited to deliver this Cape Dory Typhoon back to her owner...and the water!

Total Hrs: 6.5