Valmik's Adventures: Is Spring, Finally Here I Wonder

Well to start off with it has been a really long winter! Not the coldest but long. Valmik is really comfy for me and I have been warm and busy. Just this weekend gone we had the nicest weather of the year so far. Lots of sunshine and warm as well (Well warmer than winter:). And considerate enough to grace us on a weekend. So I decide to start the day by checking on my rigging. Now I have had my mast down for over a month. I had curled the whole gang up inside a old/clean tire to give it a "flushing"(I shall call it) in paraffin and linseed oil. It is so hard to spill out of a tire! Then made a decision to "slush" it all anyway to do it properly and protect it! I don't know how long it usually takes to dry, but I was starting to get annoyed at it taking so long, and the weather certainly was not lending any assistance. I had it all bundled up under cover away from where the rain could get to it. Nope, still sticky, and still dripping :( yes I was a little frustrated! over a month!
I decided to put it out of my mind and crack on with some more work

What's next? Ah my boom. Now I have just had a mate weld me up a new goose neck. The goose neck attaches the boom to the mast. Valmik was set up for boom reefing when I got her. And I have decided to go with slab reefing. Just quickly, Boom reefing rolls the main sail around the boom, Slab reefing pulls points of the sail down to be fixed, And there are more. I have chosen slab because it has by far the best reputation, and for a few reasons. Basically my boom would twist when I didn't want it too. My main sail out haul and kicking strap were also the only things holding the boom against the mast. I had some snap shackles doing the job of the reefing horns, and poorly at that. So I cut out the parts of the old one that I needed, cut up some extra steel, designed a new one, and got my mate to do the welding! all for £25.

So I went to look at my boom and think about attaching the goose neck when I noticed a crack running along a glue line of an old repair of mine. So I had to repair this as well, Great. Nothing was going well at all. And I got a bit fed up with it all! Was I ever going to get out of here? For just over five years now I have been struggling away trying to get this all started. How many more before I could do some proper sailing!
Yes I sort of felt like giving up!
No I didn't! I am so close now.
Actually I can count on half of one hand the amount of time I have thought about giving up. And these thoughts are not really serious or last that long.
So I thought "Stuff it, put the mast up with a sticky dripping rig" the weather was perfect for mast raising. Now the day had a goal and I went at it. Re rigged half of the mast, attached new VHF and pulled cable though mast, Inspected navigation lights. I inspected every shackle and smeared a little lanolin one everyone before attaching and seizing. Now my mast was alongside on the pontoon. Lifting a ten metre long wooden mast half rigged, is similar to lifting a medium build rugby forward which wants to wobble around everywhere and hit everything. Much like playing the game and tackling a real one. A fully rigged mast, well, charging props can be tackled but you could get hurt too. Best to go round the legs! So I took it in steps. I did have a mate to call on but thought it more challenging to do it all myself!

As you might be able to see. I had to lash a pole out horizontally to support the mast near my wind generator, also keeping the mast central. I like to use the spanish windlass Knot I think it is called? It is so good and strong I have actually used it to lash most of the poles, holding my wind generator up, together!! love that knot! I should bother to find out it's proper name,,, someday:)

Moving the mast into position was very difficult!!!
I took it very slow.Then rigged the rest of it.

I took a line from my mast to a mates boat. Attached a block to his halyard and raised it all up high. This gave me a very good angle. His halyard winch made my life a lot easier and the mast came slowly up. I had to rig another line to stop my mast going side to side, and had to juggle both these lines as up she went!

And I would now, like to talk about the therapeutic value of raising your mast on your own.

"Raising your mast alone is Therapeutic"!