I’ve said a couple of times that we have 4 “MUST DO” projects to tick off the list before we can splash the boat. Maybe it’s useful to share what those are, why they’re critical, and where we stand.

The rig. Why is the rig critical? Because we want to sail when we go in the water. Plus the mast being fully supported feels like a critical safely thing, honestly. Isn’t the rig the mast? Not just the mast, but the wires that hold it all in place. All of the wires that hold It in place, including ones that aren’t actually attached to the mast but are attached to the wooden sticky-outy bits that are where the forestay and backstay are attached. Those wooden bits (an 8’ long bowsprit that goes off the front, pirate-boat style, and 2 4’ long boomkin pieces that angle off the back end of the deck and are connected by a pair of bronze plates) are held in place by wire rigging (other than the stays which come off the mast). A bobstay (runs from the tip of the bowsprit to a fitting just above the waterline) and 2 whisker stays (run from each side of the tip of the bowsprit to a fitting back almost halfway along the side of the boat) for the bowsprit, and 2 boomkin stays (there’s probably a more technical term for it) that run from the underside of the bronze plate to either side of the transom.

• STATUS: Mast is up and 7 of 9 supporting wires are attached. We’re just lacking the forestay and backstay - which need the bowsprit and boomkin. Bowsprit and boomkin are getting coat 3 of paint (the final coat) tonight. We’ll let the paint harden for about a week before installing the pieces. That’s really fine because the new wire and new Stay-Lok fittings for the bobstay, whiskers, and boomkin stays are back ordered and should be here the first week of June. At least we hope so.

The thru hulls. Why are thru hulls critical? They’re holes in the hull; making sure they can be fully closed off means we won’t sink. We like floating.

• STATUS: We’ve fully installed 4 of 6. One of the remainders is a brand new one which still needs its backing plate installed. The last 2 thru hulls are waiting on valves which are, you guessed it, backordered and should be here the first week of June. These don’t take particularly long to install if we have the parts in hand.

The rudder. Why is the rudder critical? We need it to steer. A reader pointed out that we could, actually, put the rudder on after we splash, which is true. It’s way easier to put it on while we’re on land for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that gravity works with us on the 100 pound plus piece of the boat. It’s wooden - so it floats. It’s extremely difficult to get it lined up when it’s trying to float away.

• STATUS: You may recall that Jeremy fixed a fairly significant warp issue earlier this year. He’s now fixing some bubbling in the fiberglass, drilling out the fastener holes and filling them with epoxy (and drilling them back out again), and reinforcing corners with more glass. Once that’s done, we’ll apply a few coats of barrier coat and bottom paint. Meanwhile, the top of the rudder will get primer and paint. I know we need rain, but having dry weather is really helping us get these paint projects done!

The engine/electrical system. Why is this critical? These are combined because the engine needs a battery to start it, and the battery is tied into the electrical system. Yes, we’re a sailboat and prefer to sail as opposed to motor, but navigation instruments are necessary and use electricity for power, which right now will come from the alternator on the engine (or our small generator). Eventually we’ll have our solar panels hooked up but not yet. It’s all tied together.

• STATUS: The house battery has been hooked up to the charger and some cables have been run. All of the electrical hookups from the mast (tricolor anchor light, vhf antenna, wind instruments) are tucked into wire hangers securely out of the way of any storage space and run to where they need to go. It was pretty cool when the inverter light came on on the electrical panel! The last bit of large cable arrived a couple of days ago. Now all we need is a good rainy day (or 4) to spend running wire. Oh. We also really need to decide on what we’re doing for cabin lighting!

Project creep. Why is this critical? Hahahahaha. It’s a boat. There is always project creep. Biggies here are filling major deck holes, so rain doesn’t send us into a tizzy, making a new mainsail cover (because sun destroys sails, and we’ve spent enough already thank you every much), and moving a mass of stuff up to Vermont (because it just needs to happen, and once we get in the water we want to make tracks north.) And reinstalling the cockpit drain (because if it’s not hooked up, when we get water in the cockpit it drains right into the quarterberth.)

• STATUS: Deck holes involve installing the windlass, a deck prism, and final sealing of the mast boot. The areas around said holes are all about to get coat #3 of paint, so after some good paint hardening time, we can install the gear easily. The cockpit drain requires a decision on how to run the (huge, awkward, oversized, inappropriately run) hose, and then just running it. Mainsail cover? We have the fabric, and the sewing machine - so all we need is either a really impossibly hot day or a rainy one and borrowing a friends’ house to be able to lay it all out and sew away. We’ll use the existing cover as a rough template and take good measurements before we begin. And moving stuff to Vermont? Maybe we’ll time it in June, when Jeremy has an appointment to pick up his French ID card at the consulate in DC. Otherwise we’ll just have to carve out time for a road trip north. That will be a hardship, to see Bee and be at the lake. (I hope you know I’m totally kidding.)