There was some fouling in the running rigging amd maybe there was a mast light or wind direction indicator under the material. After stepping the mast in Bellingham, what we found was...
That's right! A pair of Old Navy underwear. There was no anchor light or wind indicator either.
We finally have her in Tacoma at Foss Marina. I had to fabricate a platform on the mast for the new anchor light (Aqua Signal Pedestal 5 watt). The plan is to wire the mast and step it on Sunday. So where can you find a fabrication shop open at 7pm? My brother Mitch pulled through for us.
All ideas start with a plan.
Mitch and I discuss the design. Sue had the idea of making the mount out of one piece instead of my idea of assembling three pieces of aluminum. She is obviously the brains behind this operation.
Preparing to cut up some 1/8" aluminum.
Here I am putting holes in the only 1/8" aluminum in the county.
The mounting platform and stand-offs.
All mounting holes are drilled and the components installed for a mock up. The water bottle in temporary. It will be removed before installing the platform on the mast.
The masthead mount is installed and ready for the accessories.
The one-piece idea of Sue's was excellent. Drill and tap the mast for 1/4"-20 stainless screws and there you have it.
I am installing the anchor light. It is much easier to do now that the mast is down as opposed to hauling my big butt up a boatswain's chair. This would have been the ideal time to measure the length of the mast but I didn't. AFter all, I don't need to know how long the mast is until I have it stepped. Every time I am on the boat, I wonder to myself, "how tall is that mast anyway?"
Sue, Sam and I got the mast up by 10pm with the help of a couple folks at the marina.
Sam is pulling the boat back while we make several attempts of setting the mast mount. It took about an hour to get the pin set and a lot of frazzled nerves. It was getting dark, cold and windy. The people moored next to us were leaving for Shelton on a 40' sailboat and they returned shortly because of 20+ MPH winds and seas over three feet in Commencement Bay. Do I know how to pick a day for stepping the mast or what?
The finished mount. I sealed and secured the anchor light wires and the extra pair of wires with several wire ties. This should last till we do a haul out. Now we are finally ready to step the mast and get this boat to it's' new home.