I had decided that I would complete the boom construction today and then do a few things on Naiad's interior but it did quite work out that way.

The excess glue on the end of the boom cleaned up.

Now the boom end is a good fit.

The holes for the sheave pivots were drilled in the correct places.

Although the two smaller ones had to be drilled through two galvanised nails as well so I didn't use my wood bits for this.

The boom now hing and ready for the first coat of varnish.

About this point I realised that there was a very strong smell of cat pee in the workshop and after raking around in various places I found that the local cats have been using the piles of sawdust and the gash wood pile as a toilet. So out cam the incinerator and the sawdust and gash wood were burnt.

I soon had a great fire during and kept it up all morning and part of the afternoon.

The workshop does look a little tidier than before. Strangely, although the varnish feels tacky to the touch, the dust I raised whilst sweeping up despite my care wiped off with an old T-shirt. Still I decided that I'd varnish the boom with its first coat and also the gaff since the first coat has soaked into the wood and was dry to the touch but that would be all for today. I need a sit down.

Still, despite not doing much boat work I had a good day. I may spend the rest of it sitting in the cockpit reading.