Getting the boat ready to sail.

Over the past couple of weeks Equules has been getting ready for a great 2017 season. This has involved a lot of cleaning We gave also

made some upgrades and modifications. We have purchased and installed a spinnaker and associated hardware. We have set up a jiffy-slab reefing system for quick and efficient reefing. The centerboard has been repaired using epoxy, brass screws and staniless chainplates from a much smaller racing boat. Finally we have added a topping lift to keep the boom up. The end results are seen to the right, well almost. There is still a bit of work that needs to be done before our first sail. The centerboard still needs to be dropped in, which will only be done on the water. Also, the topping lift is now using the block initially used by the mainsail halyard. We, thus had to move the mainsail halyard done to a newly installed block, lower and positioned more aft on the mast. Will it work? We shall see. The forecast looks good for tomorrow, although, winds a little faster than I would have preferred for a first sail.