IT'S FRIDAY!!! And I'm getting pretty excited for the weekend - lots of work going on. For starters, we have the Monomoy mast being laminated. It's being made in a "bird's mouth" technique that produces a hollow mast weighing a fraction of what a solid spar does with only marginal strength loss. The mast is 16 feet long and is 5" in diameter at its widest point, tapering to 3.5" at the masthead and heel. The pieces are already made, for the most part, and the spar team will be making final touch ups and laminating tomorrow. In the paint shop for some varnish next week and hopefully we will have the finished reproduction mast ready to go.
Also this weekend we have the naval carriage for the 3-pdr being fleshed out a bit more. Depending on shipping and logistics, we may have the gun itself in time for GCH. Sorry, guys, she's not going even if we have her - doesn't fit in with the program.
The foot and leach of the sail are now complete, sans roping and grommets. Corner patches are installed at the tack and clew. Tonight I plan to cut the tabling for the tack and head, and get them started as well. The Manila line that was on the stretch in the rigging cage came out yesterday, and will serve quite nicely to rope the sail's edges. All in all I think a mid-march finish date is more than practicable.
So, in closing, I intend to start a tradition here on the NHS Dockyard Blog - in tribute to one of my favorite Navy bloggers, I'm going to call it FULLBORE FRIDAY - something like Jon Stewart's 'Moment of Zen' but a little faster paced. This week's subject is brought to you by those crazy Aussies at Ocean Thunder pro surf boat racing. Because nothing says cool like rowing through pounding surf and having your boat flipped and oars broken - while wearing speedoes. Rock on, Australia.
Will
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