Lettering!

I ordered some vinyl lettering from DIYLettering. Lindsey helped me decide on fonts and placement.

It arrived today and I installed it with no problems.
Looks very nice, I think.

Vinyl lettering

I'm currently working on a tent, but trying to get as much sail time as I can (which isn't much, unfortunately). I already had a spare tent pole, I just needed some oarlocks and a way to attach the tent material to the hull. I ordered those from Duckworks.
And certainly I need some tent material, but I'm going to cut a pattern with a tarp.

Please Welcome the PT Puffin!

We had a successful launch!

Today I christened her the PT Puffin. The PT stands Portly Tufted Puffin. This is from a children's book of poetry that I used to read to my kids.

Alaska Mother Goose by Shelley Gill. (clickable link to amazon where you can view inside and see the art)

The portly tufted puffin waddles in the sand;
a plump and shy old parrot, he's clumsy on the land.
But when he tips into the sea, he flaps his wings and flies,
chasing fish beneath the waves, cross salty seaweed skies.

I think it matches her well. She looks like she'd be clumsy but on the water she performs very well and is quite nimble.
The PT can also stand for Port Townsend where her hull was laid down. And I think it adds some whimsey.

We had a great time. The wind was a bit light for sailing, but it's just as well until I get some more time at the helm.

My parents drove out; it was nice to have dad around for the launching. He started this journey, it's best to have him around for the launch.

First, here are some shots of the christening.

opening the champagne

Christening

Christening with champagne

Motoring away from the dock

Captain

Artistic shot from my daughter

I do have to admit that we cheated just a little bit; we actually took her out on Saturday for her real maiden voyage. This was cautionary. I wanted to make sure that everything worked correctly. Many years in the software business has convinced me not to do live demos but to always test things first.

Practice rigging with dad.

Rigging stored in her.

Three build amigos

At the boat ramp.

Launching

I had to check and see if she was leaking around the centerboard pin. There was no leaking at all. That's very good.

A funny thing happened here though. Suddenly we saw that the footwell was filling with water. That was bad, very bad. But when I traced the leak, it was coming from above the waterline from the sole. I couldn't figure out how the water could be coming from up there.
Turns out it was a leaky water bottle. Whew!

About to head out

Quincy at the helm

Please note that we are reefed here. On the dry, we rigged the sail with two reefs in. This seemed the safest to me. I wasn't familiar with the boat, and I wanted to be safe. I'd recommend reefing on the maiden voyage.

Dad and me

Victory!

I've still got things to do to finish her.

I plan to continue this blog, but I'll be changing the name to Sailing 284. I want to cover the small boat sailing adventures.