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De-Masted
The mast came off the Rum Runner for repairs- what a big job!Cruising is really just another way to test of your skills, adaptability, and patience. Obviously you need some skills to sail a boat down to the Caribbean as well as fix all the problems you encounter along the way (like bad electrical wiring, the propeller coming loose, the battery chargers not working, the freezer going out, the bilge pumps not shutting off, as well as multiple plumbing issues and other such leaks… just to name a few of the things that we have had to fix lately). Not to mention the bigger problems we have had with our sail blowing out and the mast needing repairs- which require us to hire help to get the job done. But in order to accomplish anything in the Caribbean or any foreign country (from clearing customs and immigration to ordering necessary boat parts) you must also have adaptability. For cruising in foreign countries with different languages and cultures can be a challenge, but is also what makes life interesting. It is concepts like “island time” that we have had to adapt our schedules. Where the phrase “Not today, maybe tomorrow” really translates to “You are lucky if we get this fixed this week, maybe
Preperations
The crane being attatched to the top of the mast, getting ready to de-mast the Rum Runner. by the end of the month”. Which brings me to the final aspect of cruising, and probably the most important- patience. Unfortunately I am not a patient person by nature, but luckily what I lack in patience I make up in persistence.
So we have now been in St. Martin for over 6 weeks. As you all know blew out our sail on our trip from Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands and we had it repaired in St. Thomas. But the sail maker not only had to fix the tear in the sail, but also all the seams on the port side of the sail. Well…. that’s odd. It’s a new sail and should definitely last longer than 6 months. So we deduce that there is something wrong with the mast, something that is shredding our sail. Long story short we bring the boat to FKG, a rigging company here in St. Martin, and have them look at the mast. Well, it turns out to be a manufacturing defect. We have a furling mast, which means that our sail rolls up into our mast and when we pull the sail in or out, it goes thru a slit
Up, Up and Away
The crew of FKG taking the mast off- good thing they know what they are doing. that runs the entire length of the mast. FKG found out that the edge of this slit on the port side has a rough, 90 degree angle versus a smooth rounded edge. So when we pulled the sail out on a port tack the sail would rub against this rough edge, which in turn acts like a razor blade shredding up our sail. So we need to have the edge of our mast smoothed out before we can put our sail back on. Unfortunately this is a big job and we had to take the mast off- a bowl of fun! It has taken over a month to get the repairs, nothing but delays from scheduling issues to cranes breaking (one in the middle of putting the mast back on the boat- leaving our mast dangling 60 feet in the air for a couple hours- now that was fun. They finally had to bring in a second crane to take the mast off the broken crane and back onto our boat- holy cow!). It has been a frustrating process, one that has definitely tested our patience (especially since we have only been able to sail the Rum Runner 4 out
Repairs
Carefully placing the mast in the yard, where the rough edge will get smoothed out. of the last 6 months since we left Charleston). But we are happy to report that Rum Runner is fixed, that the mast is back up and the sails are back on, and we will be setting sail (yes, actually sailing) again soon- yohoo!
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Margie
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Think Positive
Hi, Such experiences I never would have imagined.Life on a sailboat is not just blowing with the wind.Thanks for the truth and the lessons you are sharing.