Catch up... mast up...

Bit quiet on the log here but things have been going on..

First and most importantly, the mast is up, and this time no (major 😏) issues or concerns like we had last time. A close eye was kept on the flag halyards and they remained well behaved and out of the way - in fact the mast positively shot up, and before I knew it the mast crutch was down for the first time in just over 6 months, and the various wooden supports and the A frame were packed away for yet another year, libations were poured to skipper, boat and Neptune (in reverse order), and my mast raising crew lounged in the cockpit in the sun drinking beer, eating pork pies and talking nonsense..  it was a good mast raise and the Jolly Boys did me proud (as ever)

So I mentioned no major issues - just a minor one - despite having checked twice that all was clear at the mast foot, the cable for the mast head light got trapped in the gap between mast and tabernacle! Irritating but not a show stopper - one, I haven't ever used the mast head light in anger since I bought the boat and installed it, and two, if I have a moment this summer I can just cut either side of the trapped length of cable, connect in a new length of wire, rewire the pug to the new cable and ignore the bit that is trapped until I drop the mast at the end of season (when I'll just throw it away, anyway)..

Then a couple of days later and still aching in every bone (and also with a bad back - I must have twisted awkwardly when raising the mast 😐), I went out to put the sails on..

Again no issues, just a few technical challenges..  

The main was first, which requires main halyard and topping lift to be installed/routed, and also the mainsheet and kicker to be attached, but all done, and a quick raise of the main to confirmed it was running free. Flaked it down and then fitted the new sail cover*.. 

Then it was time for the genoa - now we'd found when we trial raised the mast a few months ago that the luff bread on the genoa was too big for the new furler - simply out it was too thick and wouldn't fit. I'd taken the sail in to the local sailmaker to have a new one fitted, but this was the first opportunity to see if  it would now fit, so there was slight trepidation.. 

Happily no issues at all with it and it fitted exactly, though the slot is definitely snug..  even had to use my old windsurf downhaul tool (like the one pictured left) a couple of times just to get the necessary grip but either way it was up, I then, for the first time ever, got to roll the sail away and my goodness, the difference between new and old was chalk and cheese..  it practically rolled itself away!😁

Shame it rolled the sail inside out (so the UV strip was on the inside), but having unrolled it completely and then rolled it the opposite way and all was done.

Pausing only to tighten the stays slightly, and then put some temporary lockwire on the bottle screws (they'll need tightening again I suspect after the first shakedown sail) to stop them coming undone, I called it a day and dragged my sorry arse, err back, home for a well deserved beer - now all I need is  a decent time of  tide for the first sail of the year - but before that the Jolly Boys are going sailing beginning of next week!

*quality of this was a little disappointing, to be honest - I don't expect them to last for ever, usually I get about 6 years out of them before the material basically disintegrates (and at roughly £60 that works out at a tenner a year - good value basically), but this one is a bit flimsy by previous standards, time will tell...

I'm in!

..long old day but I'd had a phone call the night before that the lift in team had managed to complete the 'workaround fix' to the hoist that I mentioned in the last post, and that it was working well, so I might be able to go in the next day - albeit late, as they had a lot of boats to catch up on..

"So many expectations..

...at the start of a new.. etcetcetc" 😏

...you can see the 'workaround fix' in the pictures above..  we used two large lifting straps to replace the damaged wires at the back..  the wires give additional vertical adjustment to the arms of the hoist (which also go up and down), so we lost the additional adjustment, but the straps worked well enough to lift any of the boats on the yard..

...and after a quick and painless wet launch direct from the hoist (usually I get put on the mud and float off), ten minutes later I was back on the mooring...  so good to be back out there...

Guess I need to start thinking about a mast raising party!

Should have..

..been in by now, but here she is still sitting in splendour in the car park at the club! 😏

About four boats in, on the first day of the lift, the hoist developed an issue; one of the lifting wires was fraying. All further launches were halted/postponed while the team went to work trying to find some replacements so my launch was one of the casualties..  no worries, it is what it is, and these things will happen - happily no people or boats were hurt so it's a win win, most of the guys who were going to launch have just found further bits of work to do on their boats!

I was no different so the following is now done, 

• having assumed I was going in, I have 5 litres of fuel on board
• the engine is on - with lock
• I took the opportunity to fit the new Windex - a thing of shiny beauty that will probably last all of 5 minutes 😏
  
  
  
  
  
• I've got the tender ready - she's  now sitting upright following a winter upside down
• ..then last of all, the traditional very last job, it was time for harbour plaques to go on!
  
  
  
  

That's it - I'm calling the winter maintenance over, done and dusted - I am more than ready for launch if only for a rest! 😁

Postscript: the hoist really needs both wires changing but our supplier only has one in stock which will arrive Monday - the guys think that will be enough (there's a 4 week delivery for the second one!) and they can bodge a solution with some heavy duty straps to at least start the launches going again - just waiting on the word when I need to make myself ready.. 🤞