First I want to report, that it looks like the once-great free photo hosting site PhotoBucket is lost -- I signed in just now to upload photos after maybe 3 years of absence, and was hit with solicitation for paid service, and after I declined it there was pop-up ads left and right, and every other click the screen shows email confirmation request (but no email received). Anyway, Google Photos seems a good replacement; nice and easy.
So today I have some progress to report. I disconnected all rigging from the tip of the mast. Since the mast was resting on the other boat, I had easy access. After all rigging were removed, I first tried to bend it forward to break it; could not. Then I found that it was dropping down, so I tied a rope to it and let it drop. It went down about 15' and rested at the bottom. Below are the before and after shots:
With the mast nicely out of the way, I tried to drag the boat toward the bank with another person; could not do it. The boat leaned forward, but did not move much; when let go it went back to the former position. At that point my next step was to cut the mast at low tide, and see if the reduced weight + additional helper would allow the boat to move.
Then at low tide this evening, the bottom of the mast was exposed! A pleasant surprise! In fact this is a mast that is designed to bend backwards:
Upon closer inspection, it seems if I remove the pin (circled in red in the 2nd photo), the mast can be detached. Do experts concur? That seems the only hinge.
As for the boat itself, I think I need more than 2 people to drag it forward. I observe one thing though - the tip of the boat is floating on water, even though the fiberglass hull is broken at the bow. Does this mean that there is air pocket still inside the front of the boat which is causing this flotation? Or could this be due to the keel and rudder somehow propping the boat up this way? I am trying to figure out what can allow me to more easily move the boat to the bank. If the keel or rudder is sticking into mud like a needle, perhaps I want to level the boat?
Finally, I got a saw with blade to cut metal, in anticipating of cutting the aluminum mast. Now I may not need to cut metal. Does anyone know if this blade will work on fiberglass hull? Or whether there some other blade more suitable?
End of today's report.