Found the rivet gun last night so can go up the mast today. It’s fairly calm so after a bit of breakfast and loading up a tool kit, I go up the mast with Christy on the winch. The tool bag I buckle into the bosun’ seat and glad I took a bunch of extra things cuz I needed them up there.

A bit scared this time: tho I’ve got a double bowline on the spare halyard, I can see it has a slight frayed spot about 10 feet above me which is a bit unnerving. Beautiful views up there and tho I try to enjoy them, I’m too busy hanging on at over 50 feet up to really get interested.

Have to drill out the old rivets (thought of that! brought my drill and a bit) and the axle pin on the sheave wheel is jutting out so glad I brought the vise grips to squeeze it back in. Otherwise, I can’t get the sheave box in the slot. Very frustrating trying to get tools out of the tool bag without dumping anything onto the deck 50 feet below and without losing my balance. Stressful is a word I would apply.

But I get the pin pushed in, I get the sheave box in the slot, I get one rivet in, I get the next rivet in. Christy pulls down the foresail halyard so we can raise the foresail, then she lets me down. Thank goodness for our bluetooth communication headsets.

I was a little too unnerved to go the next 6 feet up to check the mast light. That will have to wait.

Whew. Great to be back on the deck.

We take a bit of a break. Audrey calls and while we are chatting I drag out the foresail and get things ready to raise it.

That’s always a struggle as Christy and I are not the greatest sail flakers and when we rolled it up last spring it was during a very heavy wind so we were happy just to get it in the bag. It’s a fight to raise it but raise it we do, now just have to furl it in.

Now just have to furl it in.

Now just to have furl it in.

Well of course, the furler jams and the furling line breaks when the sail is half furled. We spend at least an hour trying to figure out why it’s jammed, everything from trying to dissemble the furler (no go) to researching online. The only thing that makes sense is the halyard is wrapped around the top of the furler. That means another trip up the mast.

Sigh.

First tho, we replace the broken furling line, good we have a spare rope that is long enough (and thanks to the online manual for telling us how long it needs to be). Even that is a bit tricky since we have to rewrap it from the beginning, putting the same amount of rope on the drum as was there when we were half furled with the old rope. Good that I marked the old rope for that reason. Next we tie off the new rope so the wind won’t pull open the furler once I loosen the top.

Back up the mast. A little less freaked out this time, but still not going to check the anchor light, mostly because of time now though.

When I get to the top I can see the halyard is NOT wrapped around the furler but it seems a bit stuck. I turn it pretty easily with my hand and start manually furling the sail from the top. Goes in pretty easily given I don’t have much leverage. Sticks a bit though. Christy helps from the bottom and before I come down, we’ve manually furled the sail.

Down I come, glad to be back on deck again. We tie on the second sheet and I furl the sail with the new rope. Works like a dream. To this moment I don’t know why it was stuck.

It’s 4 pm and we have a beer and then a rum to celebrate, been a challenging day and a bit stressful. Christy tells me I didn’t seem too panicked so she wasn’t either.