Nautical terminology is abstruse. Every part of the boat has a name and it is an entire education to know them all. The Scaffie has two bits of wood sticking out at the stern between which the traveller is rigged. When I bought the Scaffie these were missing and so I made some.

Short and thick

So, you can see them in this classic photo of the Scaffie in Ie Jima. I  fret that these bits of wood whose correct nautical name I do not know, are too short. The result is that the clew of the sail, see what I mean about nautical vocabulary,  is pulled down low. I believe the boat will sail better with the clew higher. New project.

I go to my much beloved wood yard.

Most of Okinawa is covered with forest.

I know these people as a result of a series of boat related wood needs. Being Okinawan, they are friendly, helpful and fun.

Aladdin’s cave

The guy cuts me two billets of what he calls mahogany but I think it is some much more exotic Okinawan hardwood. He charges me 100 yen, which is 80 cents American.

Here we go

I spend the weekend sanding, applying wood treatment stuff and gently painting on varnish to all the woodwork on the boat. I also spend delightful time  cutting and rasping the bits of wood, whose correct nautical name I do not know, so that they fit perfectly.

Pretty boat

The weather is sunny and windy. A remarkable spectrum of people stop and chat. Most of them speak Japanese  but it does not seem to matter as there is a common understanding that getting a boat ready for a summer of taming the wild and wistful ocean is a good thing.

High traveller

I can’t wait to find out how this will change the performance of the Scaffie. Probably not much but you never know.