Finito!

I spent a great morning today fiddling with the rigging. The simplicity of the Goat Island Skiff is brilliant and I kept wondering what else I had to do. However, it was done! I just have to redo some of my knots which are not the best. The simple truth is I've forgotten how. I was a sea scout in my early teens and was quite proficient in knots, but all those skills have deserted me.

The yard is attached with cable ties. This was meant to be temporary, but to my surprise it is actually quite an elegant solution, so I might leave them there. See how nicely they hold the sail to the spar?

I also ended up attaching a small block to the U bolt on the tip of the mast, so it's now much easier to hoist the sail. I also added some leather to prevent chafing.

The 4:1 downhaul has nice power and works well. Unfortunately there was only a very light zephyr of wind, so I couldn't really evaluate the sail. My sail has a leech cord, so if anyone can give me some tips of how and when to adjust this, I would appreciate it. The sail has 3 leech battens and a loose foot.
I also weighed the completed hull, which is 49.5kg. The next step is to weigh the whole boat, including all the rigging and foils.
Next weekend is a long weekend. Here is Australia we celebrate the Queen’s Birthday. It’s not really her birthday, but what the heck, it’s as good an excuse as any to have a long weekend!

Here are some pics from today. The sunlight was dappling through the trees so the shots are not great.