Ready to sail the Lady K

Well a lot has happened in the last 10 days, thanks to the enormous effort and enthusiasm of Adam and Micaela, guided by Lady K's Project Manager, Gary.

Lady K at the Whitsunday Sailing Club - Dawn

With a beautiful backdrop of the Whitsunday Islands, I can think of worse places to sand, undercoat and paint an International 23 catamaran. The grassy area of the Whitsunday Sailing Club has been ideal to give Lady K some much needed attention, all the while making sure we come in under budget. We were keen to get it out for a test sail on Sunday 12 March, so it was early starts and late finishes to achieve our goal.

Micaela the sanding queen

1st coat

2nd coat

Gary prepared the rudders at home, and I even got my hands dirty while coating the replacement hard deck panel with two-pack wood preserver.

Working in the shed

There were a few other bits and pieces to put together before she was launched with a new look, such as putting the boom back in place, fitting the rudders and replacing the trampoline.

Rudder refit

Measuring the trampoline

Also, our newly acquired second-hand spinnaker needed a hoist to make sure she was the right size. Sourced from the internet for the bargain price of $250 from a 16 foot skiff out of Belmont 16 foot Sailing Club, we were chuffed it fitted perfectly.

Measuring the rigging

Does the spinnaker fit?

As the day drew to a close, we were hopeful all the essential jobs would get done prior to our test sail the next day.

Finishing touches

After work drinks overlooking Lady K