Since the new boat was launched I have been plagued by leaks. 2 in the bow, 3 in the fin box and one half of the radio pot cracked away from the deck. It was fixed on with 5 min epoxy but obviously not well enough.
Thankfully I have a very narrow syringe which when filled with West epoxy, allows me to target pin holes and cracks without using much epoxy. I fixed the radio pot holder yesterday. All this work has added 34gm to the hull which is a sacrifice worth making as most of the weight is centred near the fin. The hull is now officially watertight.
The final step is a boat repaint. The Industrial enamel paint I found, was not as industrial as I thought and is pulling off with the deck patches. Thankfully our hard working UK class captain, Malcolm Appleton, pointed me in the direction of a 2 pack automotive paint which takes 24 hours to harden but if it is good enough for cars then it should be good enough for the boat. It will be worth the effort stripping down and repainting with the metallic colour of my choice and the hull will finally be fully watertight and finished so I can get on with tuning and racing.
The link to the manufacturer is HERE
I had to change the cable tie I used to hold the chord connecting the jib boom to the deck. Twice they snapped on me in strong winds trashing my jib so I have gone back to the Sailsetc roller bearing connectors. These perform perfectly but do not get the jib as low as I would like. Back to the drawing board. I think the final solution is a boom clamp with a sheet hook fitting into a series of holes so I can raise and lower the jib boom as required. I noted that was the solution on the Kantun except they used a bowsie.
Home building is so much fun but does absorb a lot of time. Since I got into the class, I feel I have been going round in circles with fittings and systems to get to a simple reliable setup. Buy a new boat and everything is setup nicely for you and you just go sailing and go fast. Where's the fun in that? Only kidding.