Home Build International Moth Blog 11: At last! Valkyrie's new higher wings complete!
by James Sainsbury 26 Nov 2019 00:05 NZDT
Valkyrie's new higher wing conversion is complete © James Sainsbury
It's late November and Valkyrie is complete! After raising the wings the boat went down a dress size. To get the extra width back, I had to attach the wings further out. This left a small gap between the hull and wings, nothing that a bit of weave couldn't sort.
To get the boat back to maximum width I slightly extended the outer wing bars. A perfect excuse to add some extra flare and character.
Then came the track.
The track has been raised to fit inside the new wing angles. A few modifications to the front of the wings meant I was able to drop the track as low as possible. The plinth was raised slightly to help support the track in the middle of the deck. The king post proved bomber and needed no modification, plenty of clearance with the original height and angle (smug face).
With the hardware fitted it was time to focus on the aerodynamics. The deck plate was raised to end-plate the sail and a new fairing made to cover the gap between the wings and deck plate. A perfect excuse to bring out the spread tow and make something shiny.
A few rigging adjustments were needed to accommodate the sail, the shrouds were shortened and the skirt trimmed.
She's rigged and ready to hit the water. The questions is, will it be worth it? I will not be best pleased if I have spend endless hours and beers only to be spanked by Mr Lea once again.
Hopefully my next blog will be written with a grin while Mr Lea feels inadequate re-evaluating his life choices #ShouldHaveBuiltYourOwn