F36 #5 became a trimaran for the first time today. Her assembly team struggled mightily on Sunday to bolt the beams in to their float sleeves and form the complete boat, but we ended the day with the starboard beams flanges 3″ above the float deck. Frustrating for everyone going home, and pretty much a freak out for the builder who crawled in to the cabin solo and quietly tried to figure out what went wrong. (Remember this had been put together in the shop two years ago so it was supposed to be easy this time). A fresh mind at 6am realized I must have added fairing and paint thickness to sleeves and beam ends that made the difference. Before anyone else returned to the site Monday morning, the float hull was pryed loose from its stuck position (thank you for that lesson Carlos) and lowered near the ground to give access to the sleeves / pockets. When the gang arrived we ground back all the added materials and greased the heck out of the parts. It was still a very tight fit but an hour of fiddling got the float properly mated to the beam. And the boat became a tri.

Huge thanks in the journey to water to everyone who made their ways to Napa. Carlos, Don, Rick, Dean, Goose – you guys are so kind with your time and energy. Charlie and Jim, what can I say, except 3 f27 Amigos wanting a shower and fridge in our fboat, right? Carters&Joe, although I’ve been a bit crabby in spots I am loving doing this work with you. Thanks for devoting this time to finishing the long project that has cut out many other things.

So, we’ll use Tuesday to test the motor, install the nets and daggerboard and finish up some hardware and safety items. We’re planning on the Weds 10:30am high tide to launch. (Need the high water at this ramp), and stepping the mast hopefully Friday. Call or email for more details as you wish.

It’s a little stunning to believe we actually made this: