Thursday 14 Oct, re-launch 2021, HHN day 15: Torpedo retrieved, mast top back on, and a wonderful evening at Free State Yachts annual Hallberg-Rassy reception.
Beautiful day today. Gone is the mist and drizzle. On the other hand, while the temperature in the shade here is very pleasant, working in the blazing sun by the mast is hot. Even now in mid-October.
First job is to get that damned torpedo invention of mine out of the mast. It fell off the long batten last thing in the evening while I was attempting to pull a water hose thrugh the mast to wash out dust and dead bugs. With some blue-tack and some double-sided tape on a batten I eventually manage to fish it out. Maybe we won’t patent the idea just yet!
With that done, I’m off to East Coast Marine Rigging with some bits and pieces to clean up and polish. I’m now on a bit of a timeline because we move the mast next to the boat on Monday, and today is the last day I can get into workshops. Yes, tomorrow is Friday, but we will be at the Annapolis Boat Show most of the day.
Back at the mast it’s time, at long last, to get the furling system re-installed. I had a feeling it would be a simple task, but somehow it took most of the day. Not helped by the fact that every time I needed an extra tool or something from the boat, it is a 5-minute round trip of exasperated mutterings! I lay out all the pieces of the furling system, to remember where they all go and in what order. It’s been a year since I dismantled all this.
Firstly, at the top of the mast, I slide the halyard swivel onto the luff extrusion, then rivet the top swivel back on. This top swivel is what the luff extrusion hangs and rotates on. This is then bolted onto the mast top, and the mainsail halyard and toping lift get pulled inside the mast via the sheaves in the mast top. Now it’s just a matter of putting the mast top back on and securing it in place with its 6 bolts/studs.
This is where is all gets a bit tricky. Firstly, the 6 studs that hold down the mast top are placed in the mast, but of course gravity does not let them be in position while the mast top is pushed on. So, using whipping twine, each of the 6 studs gets held horizontally ready for docking. Anyone who has ever done this will certainly know exactly what I’m talking about!
The first attempt to slide the top in place reveals that the studs don’t line up with the holes ☹. Reason? The rivet studs, which hold in the backing plates for these 6 bolts, are too long. And as a bolt passes over them, the rivets deflect the bolt slightly in the wrong direction – so the bolts cannot line up with the holes in the mast top. Hmmm. So out comes the grinder to shorten them…. then a hacksaw, because the grinder cannot get inside the mast. All in all, it is a tricky job with a lot of cursing from me. Plus, cutting off ends of rivets doesn’t feel very healthy. But there seems to be no other way.
Eventually, 2-3 attempts later, I get the rivet backs down to the correct lengths, the mast top slips in, and after a bit of joggling and the 6 studs go thought their respective holes, allowing me to get nuts on them at the upper surface of the mast top. Phew! That was one of those 15 minutes jobs which ended up being several hours.
Then I see a small issue. The main halyard and the topping line are the wrong way around ☹. I had specifically placed them inside the mast such that they stayed the same side (inside the mast) as they exit the mast at the bottom. Now I see that the halyard enters the mast starboard side at the bottom and comes out port-side at the top. And topping lift-line is the opposite. Why would they rig it like that? So after all my anal rethreading of the halyards I will now have to have the main halyard and topping lift crossing each other inside the mast anyway. A bit annoying, but easy to fix. I can live with one pair crossing each other. But no more, thank you!
Then at the lower end of the mast, I feed in the lower furling swivel through the open bottom of the mast (mast foot is removed) and screw its long thread into the bottom of the luff extrusion. And that’s about it. Mosquitos are out, so time to cover the mast again and head into the boat to clean up for the evening.
This evening is a special one. Free State Yachts (the Hallberg-Rassy USA dealership) have their annual reception, starting at 7pm. And the second such event we managed to attend. We arrive just before 7 and people are already there. Liz, as usual, has done a first-class job on the arrangements and food. Compared to the OCC evening in Annapolis Yacht Club, this event is really special. Lots of people attend, all HR owners or keen HR followers. And very nice to see Ray and Mike invited. They both love working on the various HRs that pass-through Herrington Harbour North. It was all HR and sailing chat the full evening, and before we knew it was already 11pm. We were the last to leave and felt quite invigorated.
Tomorrow, we attend the Annapolis Boat Show.