Stepping the Mast

Looking at the fast approaching Fall weather, I decided I needed to get the boat out of the garage and get the mast up for a check and measure session before the seasonal rains.  Really, the goal was to mark the D1 chainplate positions and pinpoint the location of the cutout for the partners. 

To get the boat in the driveway, the first challenge is getting the garage disassembled to allow the boat's 3m beam to clear.  With a lot of swearing, I re-walked the steps used back in March when I originally got her inside.

After skidding the high-centered bunks across the blacktop, I finally got the boat far enough into the real world to allow stepping the mast with the gin pole.  After leveling and blocking the boat, and watching a couple videos online, I lashed the gin pole in position and called Rusty Lhamon.

With the help of Rusty and Jacque, we did it.

Over the next days I had the mast in and out several times.  We found out that it was possible to do it with just the two of us, although it's pretty stressful.  The pick point for the rather short gin pole is right above the first spreader, which is basically too low.  Essentially, I have to hang my full body weight on the butt to keep the thing from inverting.  It's exciting, to say the least.

By the time I packed the boat back inside, I had burned a week trying to hit the right rake angles, and successfully marked the chainplates and made a pattern for positioning the partners.  It burned a ton of hours over several days, but it was pretty gratifying for me to see the boat with a mast up for the first time. 

Here is a pic showing the gin pole in position and the mast more/less ready to go on sawhorses next to the yacht.

This pic is where we officially gloat.  Oh my god!  We did it!!!  No big deal.

Next, I unwrapped the shrouds and got ready to pin the mast in position.  Unfortunately, all the existing PBO was too short due to the new chainplate arrangement, coupled with the shorter Hayn eyes.  For the short term, I got around this by using a lashing in each position.

What a day?  My insane cat, Jet, with a proper photobomb.

To check the new jib clue position, I lugged a sail home from the loft, and got the new Harken Carbo Foil installed somewhere in there.

Here I'm using a tourniquet and going freestyle on mast butt position to understand rake permutations.

Using an MDF tool to mark rake angle in order to glue partners in appropriately at a later date.

Yes.  That's my garage door on the ground.  Back in she goes.