What's Up Doc?

Well, I got the mast up and the mainsail set so I could measure the boom height for a bimini top. The job was kind of interesting because Katrina and I got the sail mounted in the mast and boom, then when Katrina pulled up on the halyard (a rope that pulls the sail to the top of the mast), it went 'pop' like a parachute and filled with a strong breeze. If I didn't have my hands on the boom at the time, it might have been a Hans-overboard situation.

By the way, I figured out how to set the blog up to let you click on a picture and it will show you a bigger image. This post (and other ones afterwards) will be set up with 'clickable' images.

Since the mast is tucked up in the trees, I had to 'reef' the sail, which means I had to tie it off to a lower setting, where it doesn't reach all the way to the top of the mast or the end of the boom. After the parachute incident, Katrina sure seems calm, huh?

Here is a side view of the rigging, as we were checking out the health of the sail and making notes of repair work it needs.


When I first stood the mast up, I couldn't do it the traditional way, which is to hook it to the mount on top of the cabin and 'walk' it up vertically. I had to stand it up in the yard and then lift it up through a hole in the tree branches I had trimmed away previously with a pole saw and then hook it to the mount on the cabin. This is the whole she-bang, rigged and getting up close and personal with the oak and pine trees. Luann discovered that I had got it all into place without any help and called Katrina to help me set the aft stay cable after she saw I was exhausted and was just sitting on the stern rail, trying to catch my breath.

I installed a mast light which is a combo unit with a steaming light and a deck light in it. The steaming light is a 120 degree forward-facing light that must be on if the boat is moving at night. The deck light is angled down and forward so we can see the anchor and foredeck area with the flick of a switch. No fumbling around with the anchor in the dark.


The top of the mast showing the anchor light poking up through the tree branches. The anchor light has a control switch to power it up, but the light will only turn on when it is dark because it has a light sensor built into it. We shouldn't have a problem with the light staying on at anchor for more then we would need it.


This is a peekaboo shot of the teak trim I made up and bolted to the top edge of the cabin. You can see it a little better in the second and third pictures from the top.


This image shows the Jib and Mainsail halyards which pull the sails to the top of the mast. You can also see the boom vang, which is a pulley setup at an angle that pulls the front of the boom down where it connects to the mast.


This view shows the new anchor mount I decided to use instead of the original one. It's a stainless clamp that keeps the anchor up high where it is out of the way so that the chain now feeds directly into the anchor rode (yep, 'rode' is the right spelling) storage pipe on the deck.

Katrina and I spent some time tonight wiring up the control panel for the lights, and we discovered the wiring isn't right running up to the red and green bow lights. I'm going to have to pull new wiring through the hull up to the bow because there seems to be a break in the wiring leading up to the front. As for the rest of the lights, I've got them set up so the first switch turns on the running lights, (Bow, Steaming and Stern), the second switch turns on the anchor light, the third switch is used for the deck light and the last switch will turn on the cabin lights (cabin lights not yet chosen, bought & installed).