The 2-stroke Johnson Sailmaster 8hp longshaft motor has two holes in it's mounting bracket. I thru-bolted the motor to the wooden block for mechanical security. In addition, the motor had two padlocks on the mounting hand-screws and a long steel cable lock to the nearest stanchion. The boat and motor survived 13 seasons at the unguarded swing mooring in Toronto without motor theft. It had no chance of ever falling off the boat either!

DRS: I had my spinnaker recut by Heider Funck of Raudaschl Sails in Toronto. He installed a "dousing" ring and sleeve. Lynn and I only uses it a few times. The tack was attached to a shackle on the pulpit, the clew controlled by a sheet and lazy sheet. The sail is now driving one of our S565 group's boat on Goulais Bay in Lake Superior!

Bottom painting: Originally there was no bootstripe or waterline. I marked the line on the hull using a surveyor's level. (Pre-laser levels)
It's nice to have a painted boot strip slightly above the waterline. I painted ours every spring...some boats use wide plastic automobile striping tape.

There is VC-17 offshore paint but as easy as VC-17/offshore is to use....it's not really up to briny water conditions. You'll likely have quite a lot of slime buildup if it's kept all season in saltwater. Semi-briny Quebec City waters shouldn't be too hard on VC-17 Halifax harbour?......I dunno.

Hull polishing: For those owners planning to buff up dull gelcoat on the topsides of the hull.....remember that most buffing-restoring polishes have abrasive cutting agents which, with excessive use, may well abrade the thin coloured gelcoat too much.
The topsides of ShortWave had been abused for 14 years at a concrete pier before I found her. That's why I finally painted the hull with one-part "Brightsides" Polyeurethane.

Remember, decks become slippery when wet, don't use wax on the deck. ShortWave has anti-slip pads on both sides of the coachhouse near the mast. This also marks strong areas which will bear a sailor's body weight. Don't let anyone sit on the companionway slide.....ours was broken by the previous owner.

Some more anti-slip pads on the cockpit coaming allow you to step into the boat more safely.

Topping lift: D'Arcy's boat has a topping lift line which is controlled from the cockpit by a clam cleat on the starb'd corner of the dawghouse. I had a figure eight knot near the end of the line which marked a convenient reference point for the boom height when the sail was about to come down. A second knot marked the lower slackened position for sailing.

Flags: The topping lift is a great traditional location from which to fly your national flag. I took the stern flagpole off as it was always in the way and the flag never really got clean air down there. It flies very smartly indeed near the mains'l luff in undisturbed airflow.

Main reefing: The mains'l halyard was taken through a block at the bottom of the mast and then to a small winch and cleat on the port corner of the dawghouse. A piece of black tape on the mast, together with a matching mark on the halyard gives an instant reference when slacking the main halyard before pulling slab reefing controls and tieing in the middle reef points.

Hopefully Lynn and I will have some decent sailing opportunities this summer. With the Niagara 35 and our 15,000 lbs of weight (+ Ken's tools) it'll be nice to stay out on the lake when stronger winds send smaller craft scurrying to port.

"Always behave like a duck - Keep calm &
unruffled on the surface, but peddle like
the devil underneath!"