The mast is rigged

In keeping with what now seems to be a recurring theme, I didn't get as much done this weekend as I had hoped.

   My goals for this weekend were to finish my work on the mast, get it back up on the boat, and step it (or raise the mast in non-nautical jargon). I did accomplish the first two of three goals.

   Saturday and Sunday I picked away at finishing up the mast. I had to run my new halyards, reconnect my stays and shrouds and topping lift, and make a wiring harness and wire up the lights on the mast. I have an anchor light on top of the mast, the steaming light, and I added a deck light that will give us some night time outdoor lighting while at anchor. I also replaced the antenna wire. Not only did the antenna wire look rough, testing revealed a dead short that probably would have burned up the transmitter in my new radio relatively quickly.

   Ashley and I got the mast back on the boat, but that's as far as we made it. A fellow Lancer 25 owner was able to send me a PDF file of an owners manual for a Lancer 28. They are very similar boats, so much of the info is pertinent including the procedure for stepping the mast. The manufacturer suggests starting with the mast resting on the forward pulpit with the base of the mast in the tabernacle then using the boom as a gin pole and hoisting the mast with the mainsheet. It seems like a good idea in theory but I was unable to try because somehow I managed to loose the pin that connects the gooseneck to the mast. The gooseneck is the hinge between the mast and the boom. I also discovered something that concerns me. In order to get the mast base into the tabernacle, the mast has to go well beyond half way over the pulpit, which means the mast head wants to pivot towards the ground with the base in the air. Because of leverage, this means there is a lot of weight trying make the mast tip and I'm not we will have enough leverage to get the base of the mast into the tabernacle. We'll find out next weekend I suppose!

   We also now have our bottom paint and new plexiglass for the cabin windows, so I have plenty of work waiting for me next weekend!