Keep it up Annie, nice work, thank you . keep well  :-) 

Haha!  Reimbursement tab - the joys of predictive text.  It should have read "trim" tab.

Thank, you, David.  I have to say that I do feel we are better off in NZ than in many other places.  You take care, too: lie low and makes plans.  One day ...

I have managed to post a wee blog.   I reckon I need a bigger screen.  (Or new eyes!)

With absolutely incredible timing, I managed to crack the screen on my laptop the other day.  (Don't ask: it was one of those freak accidents that are sent by a malevolent spirit to make bad worse.)  I usually write several emails every day, work on articles for the JRA magazine a couple of days every week and, of course, write up my blog every 3 weeks or so.  Shirley writes her blog on her phone, and I might post something; however, I take my photographs with a camera, having an apparently-incomprehensible preference for using a viewfinder rather than waving the device around and pointing it in vaguely the right direction.  So the pics aren't in my phone and my phone is anyway a cheapie with very limited memory

I have a notice up asking if anyone has a laptop they can lend me for the duration.  However, thus far none of the score or so of boats here has been able to assist, although two have tried to get ancient machines up and running, bless them.

So probably no SibLim updates until we Kiwis emerge from our bubbles and I can source a second-hand laptop.

I have nearly completed both rudders and bilgeboards and the next job is to shape the reimbursement tabs.  after that the rubbing strake - I'm I have enough wood!

My apologies to all of you who might have been looking forward to a little virtual boatbuilding to help pass the time.  Keep well!

Annie those staunchion bases are not very good. I had big problems with rot under them. Though I think you have dealt with that likelihood efficiently. The triangular base is not particularly strong.

David D wrote:

Annie will you need to ballast these to stop them floating?

Perhaps I can answer this, as designer.

Because the boards contain air, but are also heavy, they will probably float about half-immersed - that would be ideal. What happens is this:

When the boat is upright, the boards will drop part of the way, and then will need pulling down and securing with the downhaul.

When the boat is beating to windward, needing first one and then the other board down, the windward board is dropped as soon as it is decided to tack. In fresh breezes, with the boat heeled, it will probably drop all the way, and will then simply need securing with the downhaul. As the tack proceeds, the pressure will come off the lee board, while it is still immersed, and then it can be quickly raised while the water is still carrying plenty of its weight. If this is left too long, the board is right out of the water, and more effort will be needed to raise it.

All this needs some crew effort and good timing, so when short tacking, both boards can be left down (with some loss of windward efficiency).

So you can see that this is rather a subjective matter (much like timing the tacking of a big genoa on a pointy-rig) - would you rather haul the board down against its floatation, or haul its entire weight out of the water, if you get the timing wrong? What I have advised Annie to do is "Wait and See" - conduct trials with the boards as they are built, and if they need a little ballast, it can be added, on the top or the bottom of the board. My feeling is that it won't be thought necessary, but time will tell.