THE MAST IS UP!

We spent Tuesday night preparing the mast. We sorted out her lines and tied them up. We attached the new shroud, discovering that the eye pin was much larger than the older. With a hammer and a milkshake, Brett was able to coax the hefty steel into the tang. Luckily. We found a set of shrouds twisted and had to unbolt a piece of the spreader to untwist. All went well though and we were ready.

We came back just before dark and talked to some of our sailor friends about helping the next morning. John, Dan, Mike, Bill, Fred and Dennis. Fred and Linda had just bought a little fishing boat and Fred made preparations to have it ready to tow us over to the boat yard.

We worked on getting the boat ready that night and at 9pm headed back toward the camper. We were hot and tired and I suggested a swim in the pool we never have used. Brett agreed and we took a quick dip in the park's pool before a ton of kids showed up. We had never used the pool before. It's small and shallow but it felt so good!

I got up at 6am the next morning to get on the computer before we set off at 745am. We got out to the boat at around 730am and the boys started to emerge from their boats.

The weather could not have been more perfect. No wind and hot! It was absolutely perfect.

Fred was there at exactly 745am. Bill got into Fred's boat with him to help pull. John hopped aboard our boat and Dan and Mike drove around to meet us there.

Dennis let us know he would be at our slip to help catch us on our way back. We seemed to be covered at all angles.

We headed out, me with the camera in my hand and Brett at the tiller. John made sure all the lines were back on the boat and helped fend off the boats beside us. Dennis fended off the other side.

We were finally on our way. Benevolence was smooth as glass in her movements. She glided through the water like a swan. Brett had reattached the rudder a few weeks ago and she responded to it with graceful ease.

As we headed toward the first turn into the channel, we came upon the Texas Mariners Cruising Association yachts from Kemah that were staying the weekend in our marina. Their $200,000+ yachts gleamed in the sun. We cheerfully waved to the yachties and they waved back just as cheerfully. They seemed a nice bunch and I looked forward to someday joining there association when Benevolence was ready.

Just as we were making the turn out of the our Westside of the dock into the channel, Fred's boat died. After that, it died continuously and Benevolence just drifted slowly toward her destinations as Fred and Bill struggled with the engine on Fred's new boat. Apparantely there was old gas in the tank and it hadn't been run for awhile. But all went well and we safely drifted into the boatyard with Fred nudging us along when he could. Benevolence had coasted over to the boat yard, eagerly awaiting her long lost friend, the mast.

Mike and Dan were at the dock, ready to catch our lines. Everything went so smoothly it was amazing to me. God truly does bless us with this boat.

We were very early and as we waited for the crane operator, we talked. The boatyard manager and crew, Margarito and Terrel, were ready to help us pick the mast up with a fork lift and bring her over to the boat. It was incredibly generous for them to help us with such a big responsibility. They did it flawlessly.

The crane operator arrived with the crane right on time and the boys got ready. Charl showed up as well and helped Brett with the mast foot. Brett was shaking like a leaf during the whole process, nervous about our mast fitting properly.

With everything labeled and ready and a man on each shroud, the whole process took about 30-40min. While refining the lines, the boatyard started to put the travel lift with a boat back into the water while we were still there. We moved Fred's boat over by ours. It was a tight fit between us and the travel lift but everything went okay. I found it odd they didn't wait 20 min. for us to be done but everything worked out regardless.

At the end, they unhooked the crane's hook from the harness on the mast. The harness did not slip down, so up Brett went on the bosum's chair to retrieve it. Brett's first time up our mast. :)

John, I and Brett hopped back on the boat. Mike and Dan drove back to the park to meet us at the docks. Bill and Fred jumped back into Fred's boat and off we went again with a good push from the dock. Just as we cleared the dock backward, Fred's engine died again. Benevolence bobbed delicately in the glassy water as they attempted to restart the fishing boat. She sat their patiently, admiring her new appendage.

Finally they got enough oomph out of the fishing boat, they were able to pull us forward with enough momentum for us to start pulling them. The wind had picked up ever so slightly from the southwest. We turned into the wind toward the marina. I had realized there were no pictures of me so Brett snagged the camera and had me take the wheel! Oh, what joy it was to feel Benevolence under my finger tips! Without sail, she had no resistance and you could feel the smoothness of her hull lines. It was SO cool! I had Brett take the wheel back as we neared the turn into the dock area.

Fred was able to get enough out of his fishing boat to give us one last good pull/push toward the dock turn. We glided past the TMCA yachties again and waved again as Benevolence, with her yellowed windows and tacky paint, coasted by them. It was a different world in Palacios than Kemah. But sailors are almost all alike and they waved cheerfully at our success.

Brett gracefully turned the wheel and coasted her directly into her slip like he had sailed her for years. Her response to the rudder was incredible. We beamed at the prospect of our little boat's sailing abilities. Dennis was there to fend off as well as Dan and Mike. We had an abundance of help from our new friends and sailing buddies. It was awesome.

We spent all day, in the 100+ degree heat, gauking at her and refining her lines. The mast had gone up a little crooked. Brett compensated by adding another toggle to the new toggle we had just gotten and then tightened the portside shrouds. The backstay was questionable when Brett had put the stern pulpit on a couple weeks ago. We weren't sure where it should be and we were right. The stern pulpit was in exactly the position that the backstay needed to be. They had gone ahead and attached the backstay and now we were to fix it at her slip.

We decided on cutting the bottom bar of the stern pulpit out so the backstay could be moved back slightly. I was glad because I had thought that all along. After Brett cut out that bar, the backstay fit perfectly.

As Brett worked on the lines, I worked at putting the bimini (canvas top) back outside the lifelines so I could put it up for some shade. It took a great deal of work for me but with Brett's help I got it cleared. Although it was frustrating to figure out the pins, I was also having fun doing boat-things. Brett helped me and we got the bimini top back up and secured correctly so the boom would just clear her. We sat under the bimini in the cockpit and stared at our new mast. It was such an awesome experience and I couldn't have asked for a better set of people to help us do it...

We bought everyone pizza and pop and had a great lunch discussing sailing. Definitely one of the better days with our boat.

More pictures under my "My Pictures" link.