Outside for some rigging

Just a quick update this time to show BELLE outside for rigging/hardware work!  It was a warm winter day, so I rolled her out of the shop and put in the mast.  No problem for one person.  Then I worked out the final location of fairleads and such using odds and ends of rope.

Here is BELLE rolled out of the shop, ready for rig/hardware setup.  

Mast in place, I'm using pieces of old rope to get final measurements for various pieces of standing/running rigging.  Only two coats of varnish on the spars at this point, I'll get a couple of more on before launch day.

Here I'm locating a deck fairlead.  My plan is to use a modern low-stretch rope (Spectra) for the side shrouds instead of wire.  These will run through blocks to small cleats on the side decks.  The lozenge-chaped piece of oak in the photo will hold one of the staysail camcleats to the coamings (see next photo).

Back in the shop, here's one of the staysail camcleats installed on the coamings.  The coamings need a couple of more coats of varnish, then I'll get another coat of paint on the decks and rubrails.  

The sails are now on order from Bohndell Sails in Rockport Maine (sorry, they don't have a web site or I would link to it), and I ordered a bunch of rope from RW Rope.  The sails should take 4-6 weeks, so I've got a few more weeks to varnish and leather the spars and do various detail work.  With the sails in hand, I'll then be able to do the final setup of the rig...and take her for a sail!  Weather permitting, I'm shooting for the end of March.  In the meantime, there's more paint/varnish, of course...