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Rigging and Bottom Work – Part 2

Part2-Featured

Today was the most anxiety producing day of this project. Our mast had never been pulled out of the boat since it was originally installed almost 20 years ago. Although the master rigger explained the process extremely well, we still had no idea how well the plan would unfold. When plan “A” failed, and then plan “B” failed, we were getting really nervous. But then plan “C” was a success. Here’s how the day went:

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There were actually two jobs happening at once today. In the morning the prep work on the bottom began. One of the items we wanted done was to raise the waterline a couple inches. Having lived on the boat for four years now, it’s become heavier with all our belongings. The boat sits a little deeper in the water – just enough that barnacles accumulate on the newly submerged surface that has no anti-fouling paint. The blue tape shows roughly where the new waterline will be.
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This area just below the new waterline needed to be sanded. It will then be primed and painted with a nice new straight edge.
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This is looking into the tube of our bow thruster after the blades were removed. As you can see, the motor stem is covered with barnacles. It will be sand-blasted clean and then re-painted.
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The crane for pulling the mast out arrived on site just after lunch.
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The crane had to extend high above the top of the mast.
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Once the crane was in place, the rigger had to be hoisted up the mast to attach the lines and “collar” that will grip the mast to pull it out.
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Once the line from the crane was attached to the mast, it was time to disconnect all the wires from the deck of the boat that were holding up the mast.
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Everything was disconnected and the crane started to pull up but the mast didn’t move. At first it was thought the bottom of the mast was stuck to it’s metal collar on the keel. The collar was unbolted from the keel in the hopes that the mast could then be lifted a few inches. At that point, the collar would be banged off with a hammer and the rest of the mast could then be removed. It didn’t work. The mast still didn’t move even after the collar was unbolted. That meant it was stuck where it passes through the deck rather than down on the keel.
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Now to plan “C”. Some penetrating lubricant was sprayed around the metal deck collar. Then the crane operator was told to “wiggle” the mast a bit to get the lubricant to sink in around the collar. Next, the crane began to apply a lot of upward force on the mast. Once the crane reached 3,000 lbs of upward force, the mast finally broke free. It jumped a couple feet up with the rigger standing right in front of it. If you look close, you can see the black rubber seal around the mast that pulled out of the deck collar (just to the left of the riggers knee -click this image for a larger version).
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The mast is now out of the boat. You can now see that same black rubber seal just above the shoulder of the rigger.
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The mast weights about 2,000 lbs and is now being guided by the rigger on the deck of the boat.
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Control lines are transferred from the deck of the boat to the guys on the ground.
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Now the tricky job of setting it down on the cradle.
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It took three guys to muscle the bottom into place before it could be laid down.
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Almost there – just have to position it directly over the cradle.
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In the cradle now, but laying on it’s side. You can see how heavy and how flexible the mast really is by how much it can bend.
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Turned over on its “back” and laying flat. Now all the work will commence to remove the wires (stays). They will be packaged up and sent off to a company that will make replacements of the exact size with new material.
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Here is the collar on the deck where the problem occurred. You can see all the corrosion around the inside. The collar will be cleaned up and refurbished or replaced if necessary.
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Here is the mast “step” under the floor and on top of the keel. It’s a bit grimy but there was no corrosion here and all looked good.

3 Responses

  1. Tom/Paula: WOW! Your detailed narritive with “Pics” of what’s going with your Boat is fantanstic. Hope all ongoing work goes well. Love, M & D.

    Reply

    1. Thanks! The next big event won’t be for a week or more until the new rigging arrives and the mast can be put back up. In the meantime, we will still be posting pictures of the ongoing work, they just won’t be as dramatic as yesterday.

      Reply

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