Oars and mast step

While all the rest was going on, I also made oars from 6x4 cm lumber (nominal, it is less since it's planed) cut to 2.5 m lengths. One of the pieces had served as the strongback on which the boat was built. I edge-glued 2x4.7 cm pieces on either side to make the blades. The sawing and electric and hand planing jobs were messy but nothing that a bit of epoxy filleting and lots of sanding could not fix. I rasped and sanded the oar handles and leathers (where the oar meets the thole pin) to cylindrical shapes. The oars are now epoxied and painted. I will fit strips of actual leather to reduce chafing against the thole pins, which are already in place. The end result is a hybrid between the blocky, square cross-section, narrow-bladed oars of the Mediterranean and the slimmer, round-shafted northern oars with laminated blades.

I also made and fitted the mast step. It is a square piece made out of iroko tropical hardwood, with a hole cut into it with a hole saw. I purposely made the hole slightly too small, and it took some rasping and sanding both the hole and the mast tip to assure a good fit. Then I glued and screwed the piece to a plywood base already in place on the bottom, resting on the keel and garboard cleats (I already described how I had to chisel channels for a good fit over the cleats).  Final trials of the mast need a lot of headroom and will have to wait until the boat is out of its sheltered terrace space. At that point I will fit the cross-piece that bolts onto the mast partner.

I also put two coats of epoxy on the spars (mast and sprit) and I am laying on several coats of spar varnish (photo). At some point I will lace the sail on and fit the snotter and brailing line. I also put on the gudgeons and pintles and fitted the moving part of the rudder to its top part, as well as the pivoting tiller to the rudder (last photo). It took some rasping and adjusting, so I will have t touch up the finish.

Meanwhile I inquired about an outboard motor, registering the boat and a trailer and hitch. I now know what paperwork I need, which includes certification by a naval architect, complete receipts for materials and a notarized sworn statement that I personally built the boat. I will pay a firm that specializes in all that take care of the registration. Between peak demand for trailers, trailer manufacturers closing for staff vacations and some car trouble, the trailer and hitch are proving more difficult to  procure. Since I am leaving Greece in about a month, I may have to postpone some or all of these for next spring. Until then I may use a borrowed trailer to test-launch the boat to see how she floats.