The recent arrival of a trailer kit, in addition to reigning mayhem on my spars, has interrupted my creative flow, boat-wise. A friendly warning on the outside of one of the four boxes advised me to do an inventory and give a shout if any pieces were damaged or missing -- within ten days, after which any shouts I might give would apparently fall on deaf ears.
I went to take an inventory the other night and encountered an exploded parts diagram, backed by a list of parts with names like "side clip." Ugh. I realized I needed to spread the parts out on the floor to do an inventory, and that meant ... making room.
We've talked about this before -- my room-making challenges, etc.
So, even though I hoped to spend the three-day weekend installing rub rails and perhaps a seat or two, I decided to set the boat-building aside and assemble the trailer instead. This, I felt, was a sure way to identify any missing or defective parts.
I made some room, and began laying out the parts:
Getting the trailer together had its difficult moments, but it seems to be more-or-less together now:
I haven't yet tested the lights to see if I got the wiring right, but I'm hopeful. I'll have a few adjustments to make to get the boat nestling gently-yet-securely on the trailer, but I'll hold off on those for a while. I am fortunate enough to follow in the footsteps of a guy named Erik who bought and customized the same trailer, and he has assisted me with advice on how to replace the front wheels with a carpet-covered bunk that will better support the craft.
Sooz says the boat looks more like a boat now that it's on a trailer. Yet, I observe, the trailer looks no more like a trailer than it did before we plopped the boat on it.
This morning I installed Bearing Buddies, which are cool things that keep the wheels turning even after I abuse the trailer by backing it into Puget Sound. This involved using something called a grease gun for the first time in many years. I also rearranged the garage for the hundredth time. It's tidy now. We'll see how long THAT lasts.
Note: there were no missing or damaged parts. In fact, there are extra parts. I hope.
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