Beaten with a stick.

Kintala looks like a sailboat again! There is this big, tall thing sticking out of the center of the boat with thick strands of wire strung out all over the place. The rigging is loose, the boom isn't on, and there are a host of things to fix - which is another way of saying that stepping the mast didn't go as smoothly as I hoped.

The worst moment came when the mast was about half way into the boat. I was below shouting instructions to those outside, which included just about everyone who was at the marina. There was a crew at the gin pole, a crew on the boat, a crew across the way on one pier putting tension on the fore stay to pull the mast up straight, and another crew crew on a different pier pulling the boat to starboard, trying to get the boat directly under the mast. It was a bit scary having that much mass hanging out over that many people, and then something shifted. Down in the boat the butt end of the mast started chasing me across the salon, bending the tie rod and trashing a good bit of teak trim in the process. The sound of splintering wood and creaking metal had me thinking the whole mast was coming through the cabin top - I had a quick vision of going down with the ship.

Fortunately I got just enough out of the way so as not to add to my list of injuries. No one else got nicked either and we recovered our poise, figured out something, and eventually got the mast settled in its spot. All said and done the mast is up, no one got hurt, I hope to feel Kintala move under sail sometime in the next few weeks, and there isn't anything broken that I don't know how to fix. A successful day if not a perfect one.

Is it up yet?

When is Grampy T ever going to be done???