Ready to Go!

We spent the weekend rigging Yumsuch and she is ready to go.  We found a few things out of position, but were able to adapt.  Their engineer, Will, and I had many conversations trying to adapt the new carbon mast and boom to work with my deck and sail configuration.  Our wind generator location also played into the design.   Overall, Composite Engineering hit it dead on. 

When you see the pictures, you will notice that we no longer have the characteristic bend to the mast.  While at the dock, our old mast seemed to bend more than others.  Maybe this was a sign of the problem since we bought it.  Our new one has only a slight bend.

The other big improvement is the sail track.  We have a seamless aluminum Harken track with cars that slide on Teflon guides.  I can raise the sail easily by hand and it comes down with authority.  With the old Stainless Steel track, we used to get hung up where the individual tracks joined.  When freshly lubricated in the spring, everything would work fine.  Then as the season wore on, I would have to forcefully pull the sail down.  Due to this problem, Gary and I developed a track lubricator.  During our trip, I had to use this every day.  Come to find out, this was another sign that the mast was bending too much, causing the track to kink.    Still planning on marketing the track lubricator.  We'll see if we need it as the this season wears on.

I was at the top of the mast 1 week before it snapped and lubricated the track, while checking for cracks, on the way down.  Since the crack was behind the radar bracket, it was not seen.  Who knows, it may have been there when we bought the boat and the surveyor did not see it either.  The new mast is a single piece.  No seam with bolts to worry about.

We plan to leave this weekend to start heading North.  I have a lot of business travel over the next 3 months, so I don't see many miles being made, but we look forward to cruising again.  We plan to cruise Pamlico Sound.  The largest freshwater sound in the country.  Our neighbors, at Osprey Marina, have cruised the area for a long time and provided us with insight and cruising guide.  

Happy 4th of July to everyone.  Now that we will be cruising again, we will start blogging as well.

Lucky Yumsuch :)

As mentioned, we installed the mast on Tuesday.  I was able to get the Spartite poured that evening and we are waiting for a full cure.  We plan to rig the boom and sail on Saturday.

I am going to post several pictures and I have many thanks to give.  The yard crew and especially Miles (long blond hair).  They have never raised a mast here before.  Miles had confidence he could handle the forks and in my experience doing this.  The other option would be to hire a professional rigger who comes with a crane.  Once you get away from Oriental, NC, the sailboat yards are few and far between.  Kevin and Bob, at Kaitlynn Marina, allowed me to help each year with stepping and unstepping the mast, so I knew where to sling and the steps involved.  Dick Davenport, Rochester native, he was there and, being a former sailor, was very helpful.  He also was able to interpret my directions from below to Miles and where he had to move the top of the mast.  I must thank my soul mate, Admiral Yammy.  She always believes I can do anything.  It must be the drugs I give her every night.

You will see my shirt in the last picture is soaking wet.  I never experienced the heat like we have here.  The temps may not be more than Rochester, but the humidity and the strength of the sun is brutal.  I am understanding why the locals try to get everything done before noon.    

It went well.  No scratches and it looks great.  We'll post again when we have her fully rigged.  

 Found the center of gravity to be right where the radar was.  This forced us up above the radar and radar reflector.

 Can't we go any higher?  This was my concern with the higher strap point.  Miles was able to tilt the forks back to get just enough height, but we were maxed out.

                                Dick Davenport.  Many of you know him,a great guy and very helpful.

         We had to swing the mast out over the life lines due to the lower height.  Dick....Catch!

                                             Yumsuch is fussy and only likes it one way :)

                                                                               Mated!

                                                                       Yup, we did it!
 

Finally!!!!!

Mast and boom arrived Saturday evening.  After two days of rigging she went in the hole Tuesday.  Pictures below of from the arrival.  The installation pictures will be posted later.

The new mast and boom are beautiful and so far everything looks like it was dimensioned right.  Boom is nearly a foot wider than the old, so less sail should touch the boom.  This will help make the bottom of the sail more useful with a better shape. 

I applied Spartite last night.  It takes 2-3 days to fully cure, so we plan to rig the boom and sail this weekend.

                                                        Perfect Rig for hauling masts

                                           Works when you know the center of gravity location

Still planning to take off at the end of the month and spend the summer in Pamlico Sound in NC.  We have gracious neighbors who gave us their cruising guides to the area.  

Not yet

Just a quick update.  The mast shipment has been delayed another week.  This time due to shipping issues.  Hopefully, it will ship this week.

We were sitting here lamenting how we never miss a Memorial Day sailing trip and how everyone is sailing back in our home waters.  Then, last night, we had one of those perfect full moon nights.  Hard to complain when we live in such a beautiful location.  Picture below was taken from our balcony. 

If anyone wants to take a vacation down here, we have a 2 bedroom we rent out.  Not this nice of a view, but in the same building.  Great resort with many activities.  Click below to check it out.

http://www.vacationrentals.com/vacation-rentals/99375.html?searchSource=simple%20search-hp&searchTerm=99375