
Some trips are not so kind to UNA. No sooner had we left the pier at Smith Mountain Lake when the motor faltered. Sail and oar you say? To stay off the lee shore we hurriedly dropped the anchor, and, so too the tiller. That quickly swept aft to jam between the rudder and stem. In horsing the stick loose, I cracked the tiller arm in good fashion. Choice words were spoken … several times. Twine and duct tape managed a temporary repair to sail the next day.
Once home, the fix involved removing the bronze joint bushing, replacing bad wood with a solid piece of cherry, inserting bamboo dowels and gluing it all with epoxy. That likely would have sufficed, but I added several windings of tarred twine as a safeguard. The crack had gone almost 12” up the arm.
Mended tiller arm.
Our next task? Devising an easy way to remove the floor boards so that the bilges can be cleaned readily and those frequently lost items can be found.

Snow is on the ground, but Spring will be here … hopefully soon.