Sailing along, part 2

So, more progress with the sails. All four were finished a while ago - we then moved onto making the stocks. These are the large timbers which fit into the end of the windshaft, and onto which the sails are fixed. Here's one being cut to size with our new saw - nothing subtle about working with sail timbers....

After all the sail timbers were finished, they were sent away for pressure treating with preservative. We then waited for a while (whilst working on another project) for the timbers to dry, to help with paint adhesion.

In the meantime, we laid the whips onto the stocks temporarily, to drill through both for the bolt fixings. We figured this would be a lot easier on the ground than half way up a mill in a hoist. It was still a hassle though, much thanks to our helpful farmers for the moving machinery.

Positioning one of the whips for drilling

More recently, we have moved onto painting the sails. Very smart they look too. Shouldn't be too long now before putting them up. Watch this space.