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1 - before

1 - before

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The kind of day that brings you back.

The kind of day that brings you back.

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On the way back home.

On the way back home.

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Docked at Ego Alley, Annapolis

Docked at Ego Alley, Annapolis

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Approaching Thomas Point Light on the Chesapeake Bay

Approaching Thomas Point Light on the Chesapeake Bay

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DSC00925 At this end I pulled the tarp tight and folded it over my mast head and tied another clove hitch in the same way that I did at the bow of the boat. Then I took a 3/16" x 100' line and spiraled the boat over and under and tied it off at each end. I used another short sling to tie the back flap to the gudgions leaving it open so that air can circulate. All I can say is I must be doing something right because this tarp is about 3 years old and there isn't one rip in it.

DSC00925 At this end I pulled the tarp tight and folded it over my mast head and tied another clove hitch in the same way that I did at the bow of the boat. Then I took a 3/16" x 100' line and spiraled the boat over and under and tied it off at each end. I used another short sling to tie the back flap to the gudgions leaving it open so that air can circulate. All I can say is I must be doing something right because this tarp is about 3 years old and there isn't one rip in it.

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DSC00924 I never had much luck with tarps until I came up with this method of securing the tarp. A picture is worth a 1000 words so check it out. The tarp is first draped over the mast with the ends even on all sides. I folded the tarp over the tabernacle an tied a clove hitch with a couple of half hitches. Whatever excess I had left in my 3/8" sling, I went around the mast and tied a square knot to secure it. Where the two front flaps hang down, I took a piece of strapping and used it to roll the flaps on. I used a carpenter's spring clamp to secure it.

DSC00924 I never had much luck with tarps until I came up with this method of securing the tarp. A picture is worth a 1000 words so check it out. The tarp is first draped over the mast with the ends even on all sides. I folded the tarp over the tabernacle an tied a clove hitch with a couple of half hitches. Whatever excess I had left in my 3/8" sling, I went around the mast and tied a square knot to secure it. Where the two front flaps hang down, I took a piece of strapping and used it to roll the flaps on. I used a carpenter's spring clamp to secure it.

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DSC00923 At the end of the boating season I always strip my mast of the standing rigging. Everything including my CDI Roller Furler get stowed down my cellar. I hang the furler up high on a long beam down there. The rigging is all roller up and hung. Halyards are left on the mast all done up. The mast is wrapped with long pieces of short width old polytarp for chafe protection for my main 18'x30' Polytarp.

DSC00923 At the end of the boating season I always strip my mast of the standing rigging. Everything including my CDI Roller Furler get stowed down my cellar. I hang the furler up high on a long beam down there. The rigging is all roller up and hung. Halyards are left on the mast all done up. The mast is wrapped with long pieces of short width old polytarp for chafe protection for my main 18'x30' Polytarp.

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DSC01121 I have about three or four of these lines going to my lifelines from the tarp. The hitch pictured is a slipped Clove Hitch. These hitches are so simple to tie that I can do them with my right hand. You can trip this hitch by pulling on that line hanging down. Once you get to hanging these tarps you get to where you can do it without even thinking. It becomes automatic. We went through two strong gales in one day last year while anchored with this tarp and it survived it with no rips.

DSC01121 I have about three or four of these lines going to my lifelines from the tarp. The hitch pictured is a slipped Clove Hitch. These hitches are so simple to tie that I can do them with my right hand. You can trip this hitch by pulling on that line hanging down. Once you get to hanging these tarps you get to where you can do it without even thinking. It becomes automatic. We went through two strong gales in one day last year while anchored with this tarp and it survived it with no rips.

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DSC01119 When I set these tarps up I want to use simple quick release hitches so that I can tie and untie them in a hurry. This hitch is nothing but a round turn on the bail with a slip half hitch. All I need to do to untie it is pull on the end of the line hanging down.

DSC01119 When I set these tarps up I want to use simple quick release hitches so that I can tie and untie them in a hurry. This hitch is nothing but a round turn on the bail with a slip half hitch. All I need to do to untie it is pull on the end of the line hanging down.

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DSC01085 This is what I call my "Poor sailor's Bimini top." Hey, it works. It's kind of tough when I'm trolling and I get a "fish on." My Penelope looks content. I love that little animal. She's the perfect First Mate. I think this pic was taken near the Mount Hope Bridge near Bristol RI.

DSC01085 This is what I call my "Poor sailor's Bimini top." Hey, it works. It's kind of tough when I'm trolling and I get a "fish on." My Penelope looks content. I love that little animal. She's the perfect First Mate. I think this pic was taken near the Mount Hope Bridge near Bristol RI.

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DSC01032 Each spring after getting her bottom painted and loaded back on the trailer, I get the mast up. If some metal crook want to take this mast he's going to have to take it down. Anyway, I always mount the boom and set up a tarp over it so I can work on the boat in days of inclement weather. The tarp also keeps the dew and the leaves out.

DSC01032 Each spring after getting her bottom painted and loaded back on the trailer, I get the mast up. If some metal crook want to take this mast he's going to have to take it down. Anyway, I always mount the boom and set up a tarp over it so I can work on the boat in days of inclement weather. The tarp also keeps the dew and the leaves out.

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DSC01116 That tarp over my boom is an 8'X10' and the other two are 5'x7' tarps. The grommets on these tarps are never place where you really need them. When I buy my tarps I always find the center of each long end of the tarp and install a 1/2" grommet. I also buy some 3/16" braid line and cut them at various lengths for the tie downs. On my boom tarp I installed doubled each line for the mast and end of boom tie offs and installed cow hitches. For the rest of the tarp I just tied single lines of various lengths needed for the lifeline tie offs.

DSC01116 That tarp over my boom is an 8'X10' and the other two are 5'x7' tarps. The grommets on these tarps are never place where you really need them. When I buy my tarps I always find the center of each long end of the tarp and install a 1/2" grommet. I also buy some 3/16" braid line and cut them at various lengths for the tie downs. On my boom tarp I installed doubled each line for the mast and end of boom tie offs and installed cow hitches. For the rest of the tarp I just tied single lines of various lengths needed for the lifeline tie offs.

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Finished extrusion 002 This is the finished extrusion. Well,-almost finished. I later added two more bolts to it. What you see is a Trex plug that fits into the mast and it's sitting on a 1/4" Aluminum plate with two pieces of PVC trim board bolted to the top tabernacle plate. I cut some kerfs on the edge of the Trex where it fits into the mast. Hopefully, any water that gets in the mast will drain right out through these kerfs. I don't know if anyone out there has ever done this. Maybe I'm the first. All I can tell you is, so far it's worked out fine.

Finished extrusion 002 This is the finished extrusion. Well,-almost finished. I later added two more bolts to it. What you see is a Trex plug that fits into the mast and it's sitting on a 1/4" Aluminum plate with two pieces of PVC trim board bolted to the top tabernacle plate. I cut some kerfs on the edge of the Trex where it fits into the mast. Hopefully, any water that gets in the mast will drain right out through these kerfs. I don't know if anyone out there has ever done this. Maybe I'm the first. All I can tell you is, so far it's worked out fine.

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Tabernacle 002 Shortly after I left that other welder with the dollar signs in his eyes, I thought about making up the 2" with 1" thick pieces of Trex. I had to use the Stainless Steel plug for now so that I could get back out on the water. My son came down with his Makita crosscut saw with a carbide tip blade and he cut the bottom of my mast. I then made up this temporary mast extrusion and was back on the water in less than two weeks. This extrusion is a bit heavy and it's ugly, but it worked. It was worse than ugly. It looked down right fugly. :)

Tabernacle 002 Shortly after I left that other welder with the dollar signs in his eyes, I thought about making up the 2" with 1" thick pieces of Trex. I had to use the Stainless Steel plug for now so that I could get back out on the water. My son came down with his Makita crosscut saw with a carbide tip blade and he cut the bottom of my mast. I then made up this temporary mast extrusion and was back on the water in less than two weeks. This extrusion is a bit heavy and it's ugly, but it worked. It was worse than ugly. It looked down right fugly. :)

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DSC01267 This isn't the original mast tabernacle that came with my boat when I bought it new. It came with an el cheapo French made cast Aluminum extrusion with a small sheave at the bottom for the internal Jib halyard to pass through and I hated this set up with a passion. After losing my mast back in the 1990s out of Newport RI, I had Rig-Rite in Warwick RI make me up a new mast. This time I wanted it made up to my specs and that included a stainless Steel hinge plate. This plate is a Dwyer and the utility plate is a Kenyon, I think. He told me to mount a block on the cabin to make up up 1-1/8" under the hinge plate so that my upper stays would fit. He gave me the plates and I mounted them to a 5"X7" Teak block like what you see in the pic. The rigger had to make a mast plug to attached the upper plate to the bottom of the mast. I wish he'd have made it out of Aluminum instead of Stainless Steel. Years later my mast started corroding and I had to take it to a marine welder. You can see in the pic where he welded, but the whole bottom of the mast was thin and getting ready to blow out.

DSC01267 This isn't the original mast tabernacle that came with my boat when I bought it new. It came with an el cheapo French made cast Aluminum extrusion with a small sheave at the bottom for the internal Jib halyard to pass through and I hated this set up with a passion. After losing my mast back in the 1990s out of Newport RI, I had Rig-Rite in Warwick RI make me up a new mast. This time I wanted it made up to my specs and that included a stainless Steel hinge plate. This plate is a Dwyer and the utility plate is a Kenyon, I think. He told me to mount a block on the cabin to make up up 1-1/8" under the hinge plate so that my upper stays would fit. He gave me the plates and I mounted them to a 5"X7" Teak block like what you see in the pic. The rigger had to make a mast plug to attached the upper plate to the bottom of the mast. I wish he'd have made it out of Aluminum instead of Stainless Steel. Years later my mast started corroding and I had to take it to a marine welder. You can see in the pic where he welded, but the whole bottom of the mast was thin and getting ready to blow out.

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006 A marine welder looked at my mast and told me, "to fix that mast, the labor alone would be about $300." I thought to myself, "I don't think so." My mast is Z-Spar and they don't make a casting for this mast that would work for me. He told me that I'd have to cut at least 2" off the bottom of my mast. I would need to make up 2.25". When you have a problem like this you need to think outside of the box. He's thinking, "weld" with dollar signs rolling around in his eyes, and I'm thinking, "just make up 2.25" between the mast and the upper hinge plate." That board under my Tabernacle is a piece of Trex that I used to replace the old Teak board that I had under it. I use stainless steel wood screws to secure the extrusion to the mast. I'm also using Nylon washer to insulate the screws along with a small dab of Never-Seize.

006 A marine welder looked at my mast and told me, "to fix that mast, the labor alone would be about $300." I thought to myself, "I don't think so." My mast is Z-Spar and they don't make a casting for this mast that would work for me. He told me that I'd have to cut at least 2" off the bottom of my mast. I would need to make up 2.25". When you have a problem like this you need to think outside of the box. He's thinking, "weld" with dollar signs rolling around in his eyes, and I'm thinking, "just make up 2.25" between the mast and the upper hinge plate." That board under my Tabernacle is a piece of Trex that I used to replace the old Teak board that I had under it. I use stainless steel wood screws to secure the extrusion to the mast. I'm also using Nylon washer to insulate the screws along with a small dab of Never-Seize.

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005 This is what I call a mod of necessity. I made up this permanent extrusion last year. It's a long story but in essence what happened was the bottom of my mast rotted out and I had to cut 2" off it and make up the difference with some material that I've never used before.

005 This is what I call a mod of necessity. I made up this permanent extrusion last year. It's a long story but in essence what happened was the bottom of my mast rotted out and I had to cut 2" off it and make up the difference with some material that I've never used before.

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Taking the mast down 004 In this pic you can see the line going around the Vinyl luff and the two half hitches tied around the Gin Pole. The round turn with the two half hitch are behind the Vinyl Luff in the pic and can't be seen. If you want to raise/lower your mast with a roller furler all by yourself, this is a pretty nice way to do it because the furler will stay put all the way up or down and this is what you want. Otherwise, if the furler gets loose and goes over the side, so goes your mast.

Taking the mast down 004 In this pic you can see the line going around the Vinyl luff and the two half hitches tied around the Gin Pole. The round turn with the two half hitch are behind the Vinyl Luff in the pic and can't be seen. If you want to raise/lower your mast with a roller furler all by yourself, this is a pretty nice way to do it because the furler will stay put all the way up or down and this is what you want. Otherwise, if the furler gets loose and goes over the side, so goes your mast.

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Taking the mast down 005 The Rolling Hitch is tied to the luff and the knot can be slip up or down very easy until tension is applied to the standing part of the line. I usually slide it up so that it's about 1.5' above the Gin Pole. I also tie this rope around the Gin pole about 2/3s of the way out beyond the mast. The Jib Halyard needs to be connected to the top of the Gin Pole and the Boom Vang needs to be taken up so that it is applying the down tension to the bottom end of the Gin Pole. With the hitch tied to the luff, I can wrap the line around the Gin Pole and try and pull the slack out to get the luff nice and tight. Then I take a round turn of the line around the Gin Pole and put two half hitches on the line. The round turn will keep the half hitches from jamming when you go to remove it. The next step is to take the excess line around the Vinyl luff and entrap it to the Gin Pole by using a couple of half hitches tied around the Gin Pole. All we're doing here is keeping the Vinyl luff secured close the the Gin Pole to prevent it from flopping around.

Taking the mast down 005 The Rolling Hitch is tied to the luff and the knot can be slip up or down very easy until tension is applied to the standing part of the line. I usually slide it up so that it's about 1.5' above the Gin Pole. I also tie this rope around the Gin pole about 2/3s of the way out beyond the mast. The Jib Halyard needs to be connected to the top of the Gin Pole and the Boom Vang needs to be taken up so that it is applying the down tension to the bottom end of the Gin Pole. With the hitch tied to the luff, I can wrap the line around the Gin Pole and try and pull the slack out to get the luff nice and tight. Then I take a round turn of the line around the Gin Pole and put two half hitches on the line. The round turn will keep the half hitches from jamming when you go to remove it. The next step is to take the excess line around the Vinyl luff and entrap it to the Gin Pole by using a couple of half hitches tied around the Gin Pole. All we're doing here is keeping the Vinyl luff secured close the the Gin Pole to prevent it from flopping around.

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Taking the mast down 001 Here's where the "Lineman's Rolling Hitch" really comes in handy. In the pic, I have my vinyl furler luff tied off to my Gin Pole with this hitch wrapped around the luff a couple of feet up over the Pole.

Taking the mast down 001 Here's where the "Lineman's Rolling Hitch" really comes in handy. In the pic, I have my vinyl furler luff tied off to my Gin Pole with this hitch wrapped around the luff a couple of feet up over the Pole.

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IMG 0005 The only way I could gain access to the nuts and bolts that hold the jam cleat was to install a 4" Beckson Deck Plate in my fuel locker. You can see it in the pic. I even have access to my stern cleat now. I think I paid $4.00 for the deck plate and $2.00 for the cleat at that same marine consignment shop. Such a deal! :)

IMG 0005 The only way I could gain access to the nuts and bolts that hold the jam cleat was to install a 4" Beckson Deck Plate in my fuel locker. You can see it in the pic. I even have access to my stern cleat now. I think I paid $4.00 for the deck plate and $2.00 for the cleat at that same marine consignment shop. Such a deal! :)

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IMG 0009 I mounted single sheaves to the lifeline stanchion bases for the control line. If you're thinking of buying a furler, figure on getting enough line to go back to where ever you want your cleat plus what you need for wraps around your drum when the sail is pulled out.

IMG 0009 I mounted single sheaves to the lifeline stanchion bases for the control line. If you're thinking of buying a furler, figure on getting enough line to go back to where ever you want your cleat plus what you need for wraps around your drum when the sail is pulled out.

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IMG 0007 Here's a better pic of the cleat. The long section of the cleat is where it jams or snubs off the line. This is great if you need to reef your Gennie.

IMG 0007 Here's a better pic of the cleat. The long section of the cleat is where it jams or snubs off the line. This is great if you need to reef your Gennie.

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