Trip 37 - Saturday and Sunday - July 26th / 27th

I came down early on Saturday after the final coat of varnish on the woodwork and proceeded to get stuff moving along. Marcia joined me later and we stayed over. Tom came down again in the morning (8:00am wow!) and we had breakfast and the Project For The Day was to get that goldarn'ed mast vertical once again. Marcia left around lunchtime but Tom and I sure worked hard and encountered more than one aggravating problem after another.

 

One fellow placed some plastic strips and the cabin hatch rides on them. This is the same HDPE that milk bottles are made of and now, the hatch is so easy to slide back and forth.

 

Installed.

 

Where the hatch will ride. There are wood strips that will keep it on when finished.

 

The Masthead taking shape.

 

The wiring.

 

Sheaves for the Jib and Main Halyards.

 

Another angle.

 

The port bulkhead. Full of stain, varnish and lotsa lotsa screws. I used about twice as many as the factory.

 

We wrapped the wire down the mast in sponge to help prevent slapping inside the mast. I used the foam insulation one places on water pipes and split and tore it and taped it on.

 

My dockside workbench.

 

The other end with connectors.

 

Now you can see how the strain relief handles the chore of supporting the wire at the top.

 

And, we have light.

 

Tom wiping off the running compound I used on the mast. It did a great job of removing thirty years of slapping lines and things.

 

It is Good Luck to place a coin under the mast.

I wanted a regular silver dollar but forgot to get one. While at breakfast, the nice waitress said she had one in the register. A gold colored 2007 dollar.

It is now glued to the base casting and sure to bring us Good Luck.

 

Tom and the ever hungry, almost always present duckies.

 

We both posed for different looking pictures.

 

Tom, at work.

 

Now, to get this off and replace it with a stainless steel upgrade.

 

It is not budging.

 

Even when pounding on this good an proper, no luck.

 

The current Tool De Rigor, ... We will grind the sucker off.

 

We ground one side flush, then Tom drilled the remaining part of the bolt off. The idea being to grind the other side flush and pop it away on the side where nothing protrudes into the hole.

Me? I wanted to keep pounding ... Wrong thing to do it was.

 

Tom with 20ft of conduit and the bolt/collar simply popped right over. We fetched it later when we hoisted the mast.

 

The new parts.

 

The spinnaker halyard block needed a bit more clearance with the forestay.

 

This does not look good.

 

Better.

 

 

Well, you are going to have to imagine this part as, we were too Krazzee Bizzee to stop for autographs and snapshots.

One motors over to a derrick and fastens a strap under the spreaders. Then, after untangling the shiny wires and making one last check, the mast is lifted and set upright. Tom made the connection at the base, and we stepped the mast onto the base casting.

While Tom held the mast, I went around and attached the shiny wires and turnbuckles to their respective mounting points.

Then, slide the strap down the mast and bring The Olde Boate back home.

And, just in time for the news too ...

 

Tom fetching the strap.

 

Gene, manning the hoist. He and Kaye are leaving soon for a trip downriver, then the Gulf, the Caribbean and, all stops in between. Every day is Saturday for both of them.

Good Luck Gene and Kaye !!!

 

Tom's handiwork.

 

Home, for now.

 

Without the flash and adjusted in PhotoShop. Artsie it is.

 

With flash. Uck ...

 

And we leave for Red Wing and Woodbury.

Later ...