We're a Sailboat Again!
Okay, that might be a stretch. But we do have a mast on the boat!
Mast! There’s a mast on that boat!
It’s been a couple of weeks of installing fittings, figuring out the best placement of things like cleats and clutches, and ordering last-minute parts. Many many thanks to Jason Hudson (rigger extraordinaire) and Jamie Gifford (sailmaker and cruising coach) for their long-distance advice! There were endless conversations with John and Matt (the wonder workers of True North Boatworks) about moving Smitten, our boat neighbor, where the crane needed to be positioned when it came time to lift the mast, and even what the weather would have to be to be able to make this happen safely.
Like anything that looks “all of a sudden”, there was a ton of work on the back end. There was getting the mast ready - it comes as a complete kit, but the hardware was largely in a separate box. Though the cables for the vhf antenna and the mast head tri-color were run already, the rest of the fittings needed to be installed and more electrical work completed - and that’s a LOT easier done when the mast is on sawhorses! After researching lift characteristics and contemplating the physics of it all, Jeremy spent a solid day running the lines and loops for the crane, and another few hours clearing all the tarps off the boat so we had clear access to the deck. Meanwhile, he figured out the placement of the mast base and the deck ring and prepped the deck for the new ring. No, we didn’t forget the obligatory coin!
Coin for good luck. Or to make sure we can pay passage to the underworld if we sink. You choose.
We’ve stepped and unstepped the mast before, but this was the NEW mast. We felt a little bit like nervous parents watching our kid hop on the school bus to go off to kindergarten. The wind gusted enough to make me hug the mast so it wouldn’t twist in the air, smashing the spreaders into the crane arm.
Lift off!
After about an hour of work, with a little direction and a little nudging, the mast slotted into its base perfectly. A little quick tightening of halyards onto strategic spots on the boat to allow the crane to disengage . . . And all of a sudden, we were a sailboat again.
Jeremy spent the rest of the day measuring wire, cutting it to length, installing Stay-Lok fittings, and tensioning 2 sets of shrouds plus the inner forestay. The forestay and backstay, the 2 main wires that go from the top of the mast to either end of the boat, need to go on the bowsprit and the boomkin, both of which are awaiting some work and paint to be installed; that support is being done right now by halyards. There was a gale forecast for that night (of course) so it was critical to make sure the mast was as supported as it could be. (PS. We were fine, even though it blew like stink. )
Untwisting the wire to expose the inner core, so the cone for the Stay-Lok can be inserted.
There’s still a lot to be done (duh). Even after the bowsprit and boomkin are back on and the forestay and backstay have been installed, the fine tuning of the rig will happen once we take Calypso for her first sail. For now, though, we caress the shiny aluminum and beam at each other.
The new mast is up!
