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I started getting ready for taking the boat out and the skies clouded over. It gave me a chance to check out my modifications and upgrades, though.
The first picture is my homemade ladder. I weighted the bottom two steps with melted lead so they sink below the surface. I like the look and I like the fact that it stows very compactly. Space is really limited on the Reenie K. The hardest part was figuring out how to splice the two line ends together.
The next picture is my jib modification. The jib sheets (lines that move the jib from side to side) were getting hung up on the horn and mast hardware. By raising the jib a few inches with a fitting from the old shrouds, I think I solved the problem.
Picture three shows how the sails are rigged on shore before launch. When we get away from the dock, we can simply raise the sails. No more trying to attach sails out on the water, with the sails flapping and the boat bobbing and the crew stepping on lines and the captain cursing!
The last pic is the roller boom with the main sail attached and rolled up. This is how we'll be rigged at anchor, whether we're having lunch, taking a swim break or spending the night someplace. Speaking of swim breaks, I took some advice from the Coast Guard Auxiliary people. I bought 100 feet of floating line to stream when the crew and passengers go swimming. That way if they drift, they can swim to a line if they need to. I also will stream the line when I'm singlehanding the boat and the weather is a little ummm "active."