October 28, 2021

Arietta Phase 2-2

Wednesday

Having sewed together a blank of cover material roughly 30′ x 13′, Jason returned to perform the initial templating for the new winter cover.  This process looks awkward, but works out in the end with a cover that fits the boat tightly and accurately.

We began by repositioning the mast a bit further aft, which gave better extension beyond the transom to improve the cover’s coverage and create better lines for the aft termination.  This mast position would be crucial in the future, as the fitment of the cover would require the same mast position each time.  Fortunately, this was straightforward:  The mast was positioned so the halyard cleats at the base were tightly against the forward mast support on the trailer.

Now, with the blank centered and draped over the boat, Jason used a few temporary grommets and lines to pull the centerline tight, and also secure the blank amidships at the widest point of the boat.  From there, he let the blank tell him what it wanted (the Tarp Whisperer), and in this case the cover did fairly settle right into its desired contours, at least once the magic happened back at Jason’s shop.  With temporary darts stapled in place (and duly marked), and key points marked on the blank itself (e.g. the edge of the rubrail, stem and stern, etc.), the process in situ went swimmingly and rather quickly.  The stapled darts would ultimately become tight seams, and the ends would eventually become trimmed and neat terminations with simple lacing.

We won’t likely see the finished result till the end of the project in some weeks’ time.  With this step out of the way, now I could think about removing the mast and getting to work for real.

Total time billed on this job today:  1 hour

0600 Weather Observation: 43°, clear, windy.  Forecast for the day:  Partly sunny, 53°