RE: mast unstepping I have a couple of thoughts on this:
1- Sling set up, spreaders - Don't pick the mast up by the spreaders. This is one of those risk/benefit things. You will almost never break or bend a spreader base this way, but if you do, you will be very sad. It adds less than a minute to rig a proper hold down line to carry the load.
2- Pick point - Ideally, this is right at the balance point. If you don't know the exact spot and are going to be wrong, it is far better to set the point too high than too low. If you set it too low, it will be top heavy and the mast will be really hard to control in the air. If you pick too high, the mast will stay vertical in the air. When you set it down, gravity will be your friend. When I was spending a lot of time on really big boats, we had custom made mast cradles with wheels. We would pick the rig up very high, with a very big crane. We would lower the butt on to its cradle which was free to roll as the mast came down. With a 100 foot mast, control is desirable. Control is desirable on a 40 foot rig too.
3 Spartite- If your mast is spartite-ed, check around the mast collar for set screws. It's a good idea to run a screw or two through the collar and into the spartite to keep it from popping out. They are pretty good about keeping the spartite from popping out if you don't remove them before picking the mast!
4 While the mast is out - Take the opportunity to REALLY check the rig. Take stuff apart, clean it completely and use polish on all the bits. The idea is not to make stuff shiny ( although that's nice), it is to find cracks. Little cracks rarely stay little for long. If you rarely drop the rig, you rarely inspect it right. Don't miss the easy opportunity to change out anything that looks even remotely suspicious.
Will Harris USWatercraft C&C Yachts Waterline Systems -- Will Harris Waterline Systems 716-531-6088 _______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album http://www.cncphotoalbum.com [email protected]
