Finish Paint

Here are some of the finishing touches on the sneakbox. Bottom paint since the plan is to have this boat in the water all summer here at Penn's landing. You can see the "barn door" rudder, large in scale compared to the boat since this boat, like most cat boats has a heck of a weather helm. One factor creating this effect is the heeling of the boat, which changes the underwater shape of the hull.
The centerboard is also oversize, creating an almost continuous full keel with the skeg and requires a smooth touch on the tiller to bring her through the wind. (Last year I stalled an A-cat by tring to swing it around like a dingy. I had forgotten about that long keel under there.) That big board though creates a counter pressure to keep the smooth hull from sliding sideways over the water and keeps the boat moving forward by resisting the sideways force. It is feathered to reduce as much drag as possible. The board is held in place with a bronze pivot pin, well puttied with Boatlife on both sides against leakage. This is important since the fulcrum of the board is below the waterline.
The last coats of paint are going on; Seattle gray for decks and floorboards, soft yellow inside, seafoam green trim, white topsides and red bottom paint. Kind of classic colors. Wooden boats need a good paint film to prolong their lives.

















The last picture is the pin guard, brass, screwed to the top of the centerboard case to keep the pin holding the board in the raised position from scarring the top of the case.