During the last week I moved some more ballast towards the stern and am much happier now with the trim of the boat. I think this is the final change that's needed. Just need to resolve the issue of a "skipper" and perhaps think of a few other details such as an anchor.

These are some photos from a couple of recent sails - the more recent ones, were taken on a overcast day, with more wind than I'd expected.

The new hatch cover has been made, with some planking so it fits with the rest of the deck. There are four small eyes in place, which look realistic if the hatch cover is used alone. However, there is a cradle that fits into these and then the dinghy is tied down. I think on the full sized (real boats) the dinghy was stored fore/aft but if I did that on the model it would interfere with the jib sheets, that's why its been mounted "sideways"

It would be good to find a suitable figure to act as a helm. However, the tiller does swing round and could get in the way (the helm would move in real life) and also the boom could cause some problems - which is also problem in real life but most people remember to duck !

I'll try and get it out sailing asap - however it is looking quite windy for the next few days.

Yesterday - Wednesday, club day - I sailed Katie again, in an increasing wind and really should have left the top sail off. This second sail did show up some issues that needed addressing, so today had a look at some "Mods".

1) The rudder is slightly lower than the keel, which makes putting the boat down awkward. So removed it and trimmed the bottom so it was slightly above the keel line.

2) If the mainsheet is let out to quickly or in light winds, the slack inside the hull can get caught around the corner of the lower mast step. So added a small piece of wood to prevent this. A rope will catch always on anything it can !

3) I'd temporally added a small amount lead shot - about 3/4lb - to the stern area and this was just enough to left the bow, so have made this permanent, by dropping it in the rear with the boat lifted up at an angle and fixing it with some resin. This puts it at the lowest and most rear part of the boat.

In hindsight, I should have added around 3/4 of the lead ballast, sailed the boat and then made an assessment of its trim. However, this small addition does seem to have made the difference.

4) The jack spar, tended to fall off slightly, so made a set of jaws form brass, just to hold it vertical.

Have started to make another centre hatch cover, which will be planked as the deck and forehatch. Decided to order some wood to complete this, as I needed some other materials for another project.

Sarik models also sell a couple of plastic vacuum formed dinghies, the smaller is 9 inches long. So far have just trimmed the moulding but it does look like it might fit - however, will need to consider how to simulate the interior. Perhaps some plastic strips but it will need to be a painted finish - hopefully at least the gunwales can be wooden.

https://www.sarikhobbies.com/product/plastic-clinker-rowing-dinghy-hulls-9-13-wh

So today was launch day - a gentle breeze and all went well. Trying to take photos & video and sail the boat, with only two pairs of hands is a bit of challenge, especially when tacking and trying to get the jibs across to the new side.

A couple of things which did come to light. There was some "play" in the rudder system, which was easily solved by using the screw adjusters on the servo.

Some of the halyards need a slight "tweek" - just to pull the sails a touch tighter.

On a couple of occasions the mainsheet got wrapped around the rudder stock, this happened when gybing and not pulling the sheet in at all. The tiller goes through the head of the rudder and protrudes slightly out, so I've trimmed this so its nearly flush. Sailing again tomorrow will see if this provides a solution.

Although the boat floats level to the waterline, once going downwind the bow does start to bury - which is to be expected. Perhaps I should have trimmed it slightly stern down. Removing ballast from the bow area is really not feasible but adding a small amount in the stern might solve this. I'll do a test in the bath.

Have finished to the point where "we can go sailing". The final float test showed the boat just above the waterline, which is fine and when pulled over the boat seemed to right itself easily. The centre hatch really needs to be made from the planking material but there isn't enough leftover from doing the deck, so I'll either have to obtain some more or think of another solution. There are also several details, such as the anchor, that will need to be added, although the previously mentioned commode will not be one of them !

The weather is quite windy at the moment but later in the week it drops off - ideal for a "maiden voyage".

Have started the rigging. Wanted to check how well the jibs would work, checking to see there was enough travel in the sheets, to ensure that it would be possible to move the jib from one side to another, as the boat tacked. In fact there was far too much travel, if I used the full length of the winch/track. I'll leave things as they are for now but may reduce the travel (end points) once having actually used the boat on the water.

The winch does work but think I'll not add an actual anchor and chain yet. The aim is to get it sailing and finer details can be added later. Another area for development, would be the central hatch, which really needs to be made from planking and a dinghy added, as this would have been used to carry the pilot over to another vessel that needed guiding into port.

Did another flotation test, with servos and batteries in place, which showed I needed to move some of the ballast forward, as the stern was definitely sitting down, also removed some, so the total is about 6.5 Kg.

Once the rudder, cockpit and companionway were added I realised the tiller was really to long, so this needs shortening.

I added the shroud plates, just bolted in place with M2 stainless hex heads. The shroud plates should be black - did think of painting but this would not be durable and would start to look "tatty".

I've got 7.8Kg of lead, most in shot form. Added 7Kg of it and fixed in place with some resin. Once cured I'll use the remaining lead to trim the hull. However, even with all the lead the hull still floats above the water line. Perhaps after some "sea trials" some more ballast could be added.