The last couple weeks have focused on preparing Milagra for its first trip up the San Juans. The plan (starting tomorrow!) is to have Mike, Sam, and others transit to Lopez via Port Townsend, then have the Veirs clan cruise for 3-5 days followed by 7-10 days of cruising by Mike and family, and then return to Seattle (Mike, Scott, Liam, and ??)… You can track our progress here — http://econscience.org/tiki/sail/

This meant that we needed to finish up the new main sail, find and mount an engine, build a dodger, and create a head! Additionally we organized our cruising ear/tools/materials, and added a tracking device to our safety gear.

Two weeks ago, Mike and Catherine laid out the dodger and two Tuesdays Mike and Scott stayed up most of the night installing it. Last Friday, Mike and I got the boat in the water at the UW WAC, revved up the engine and made it to the locks in about 30 minutes (minor cavitation if too much weight forward or wake lifts the engine up), locked through smoothly, and took a guest berth at the Shilshole H dock. Mike and Catherine then spent the weekend at Blake Island, reporting an easy downwind passage (2 hours) there, and some good motor sailing back. This week we tuned the rig a bit during an evening sail on Monday, a working/sailing Tiki Tuesday with Julian and Matt Johnson (put tell tales all over main, finished 1/2 dodger struts), and a final session tonight — I installed the head while Liam and Cora assembled the new tool and repair boxes and Annie organized the first aid kit.

Here’s a link to a prioritized sailing checklist for coastal cruising on a Tiki 21.

And here’s links for helping plan and execute safe coastal cruising in the Salish Sea — with a focus on Puget Sound’s main basin and the San Juan Islands.

Some great photos!

While non-curing paint maladies caused us to miss our sea trials deadline (7/17), we’ve made a lot of progress in the last couple weeks. Matt and Mike have been putting in many hours in the Ballard shop hammering out the platform. Scott and pals have been getting the hulls ready for primer, including stitch/gluing the platform supports, and testing the size/alignment of the new trampoline.

Last Tuesday Mike and Scott stripped the first attempt at putting Easypoxy (sandstone) over recently cured System Three epoxy. Matt used the jig saw to custom fit the side platforms to the hulls and beam struts.

Then on Sunday, a grand entourage assembled to paint the hulls with Easypoxy undercoater (primer). Enzo, Francesca, and Liam rolled on the primer, while Matt, Mike, and Scott dashed about trying to tip the paint before it dried (and it dried fast — tack free in <1hr). The primer seemed to take well to the old cured epoxy which had been sanded down with 60-80 grit. In 24 hours it was hard to scratch it with your finger nail.

Tonight, Matt, Mike, and I replaced the side section of the platform and found them still too flexible, despite Mike’s beautiful glassing/fairing of the upper surface. Then Thomas stopped by to help us work out a couple methods for drilling and lacing the holes for the rudder hinges. Along with the platform (which seems way too weak as designed), the rudder lashing guidance could be explained more to the reader.

I rounded out the evening sanding down both rudders, which Mike had faired previously. They are looking good and will soon be sporting a Wharram emblem of sorts…