So I went through this, this weekend. I built a crux to hold the mast when down, a Yoke on a pole to help it on its way down and an A frame out of conduit to act as a Gin Pole.The one person with most experience suggested we just walk it down, rest it on the crux and then move it forward in order to work on it. He said we did not need the A frame, but the Yoke would be good to take the weight and guide it down. And yes, everything worked as planned. Repairs, replacement of wires and lights were completed along with rigging inspections. As we two of us worked on the repairs, our knowledgeable friend took off to do his own work, not to be seen later when we needed his help. Along came an old friend and the adventure of getting the mast back up began.
First we decided to reverse the sequence of it coming down, resulting in one broken yoke, three guys out of breath and rather frustrated. I decided we were going to use the A frame. We set it up, using a pulley and a winch. This went wrong, the mast went sideways as it came down, bending my A Frame. Luckily for me, one shroud caught on a stern piling, which stopped the mast from hitting the boat adjacent to me and ending up in the water. After inspecting the damage to the base of the mast, we bent things back and tried again. It was working until it seemed it wasn't going up any more. One friend called out to say that my flag sheet was caught on the power outlet cover. I whipped out my super sharp knife and with one stroke cut the line. The mast went up with no more issues. Once shrouds were put in place and all adjusted, I inspected everything and we called it a day. The real moral of this real life experience is: "Don't let the experienced people walk away until the job is done"!
I want to thank my two friends for all their help. It was indeed an accomplishment.
First we decided to reverse the sequence of it coming down, resulting in one broken yoke, three guys out of breath and rather frustrated. I decided we were going to use the A frame. We set it up, using a pulley and a winch. This went wrong, the mast went sideways as it came down, bending my A Frame. Luckily for me, one shroud caught on a stern piling, which stopped the mast from hitting the boat adjacent to me and ending up in the water. After inspecting the damage to the base of the mast, we bent things back and tried again. It was working until it seemed it wasn't going up any more. One friend called out to say that my flag sheet was caught on the power outlet cover. I whipped out my super sharp knife and with one stroke cut the line. The mast went up with no more issues. Once shrouds were put in place and all adjusted, I inspected everything and we called it a day. The real moral of this real life experience is: "Don't let the experienced people walk away until the job is done"!
I want to thank my two friends for all their help. It was indeed an accomplishment.
