Commander 147

[Commander 147]

Been a little crazy here with very little "free" time.

Ebb

If I radius the edges of the cheek plates (which is how I had them made) I cannot weld the assembly into a solid box that slides into the mast without making the vertical slot that is cut out of the mast very wide and thereby making the top of the mast weak.

Your suggestion is making me contemplate more options however because I am not pleased with the way things are going together with my current plan. And some sort of box assembly that bolts into the mast would strengthen the top of the mast and allow for better placement of the sheeves. I'm back to the drawing board.

Mike

Sadly no I have not made a lot of progress on Destiny lately. With my friend Tim's project, both of my daughters buying new homes and the moving process I need to help with not to mention the time spent with the grandkids Destiny has been sitting idle for a while. I was able to accomplish a few things that did not require large blocks of my time. I had the 50 or so misc. holes in the mast that I don't want there going forward welded up. I also had the cheek plates made but need to go back to the drawing board on that (see above). I had the fixed goosneck and pivoting vang brackets made (see pictures below) and got the new standing rigging bought and here. As soon as both of my daughters are completely moved and settled I am itching to get back to working on her though.

Ben

Thanks for the complement, the caning process is not as hard as you might imagine. The single biggest secret to making the job come out well is soaking the cane in water for a minimum of 30 minutes prior to installation. This expands the cane and makes it plyable. If it is not soft enough it will break the fibers as you roll the cane into the groove. And as it dries after the cane has been installed it shrinks back and stretches tight. So tight that in my learning process I had to remake one panel. The cane actually cracked the rail in one of the panels by stretching tight as it dried.

Mbd

Thank you also for the complement.

Pictures below are 1.) the cheek plates I had made. 2.) The new pivoting vang bracket of which there are two because my vang will be cascading. and 3.) The new fixed goosneck bracket