It’s a long way to where I started with Trilleen a year ago in March. Then I was struggling to climb into the boat to work on her even a few times a day, and manoeuvring around her on deck and below as a trial of strength and will that I often felt I was losing. Today after a morning cleaning the prop, most of the day spent aligning and dry bolting up the brackets for the Windvane its obvious even to me that I’ve made it a good distance.
Nerve damage, that being nerve damage that will never fade, means that balance is still the hardest gift and prolonged balance in standing or even leaning still ends up being earth shatteringly painful. Having said that I’m still amazed to be recovering so much utility from what was a very dark period. It turns out that not being infected all the time is pretty beneficial to my general health.
Most jobs on boats are really simple unless you **** them up. Although there have been weeks of delays to do with welding availability and parts orders, these Windvane mounts are an example of how to do it right. I think my shipwright Colin has spent more time staring at the Transom (back end) of Trilleen than is good for him, but when we mounted the supports, with their pads and backing plates everything has gone perfectly. So tomorrow we will dismantle everything that got built today, apply sealant and mount it all back up again. Then we can mate the Windvane up – and Trilleen will be go for launch.