Wednesday, October 11, 2006

After a two day wait our mast has finally been unstepped (lowered)! Now we can enter the canal and clear the bridges. We had to wait on a carpenter to measure up mast supports and build. We also had to be fitted into the busy marina fall boat hauling schedule.

Gordon working on two pc's while waiting for the yard to schedule our mast lowering work.

















We finally made it to the head of the queue at the crane dock about 2:30 in the afternoon.

Hooking up the crane to the mast. They need to get the exact middle so the mast is in balance when it is pulled out of the boat and lowered on the supports. This is not easy with the wind blowing and with the constant rain that has settled into the area.

The boatyard crew lifting the mast

Mast down on the saw horse supports.

We are now truly a power boat. The mast overhang makes us about 12 feet longer than our 43 feet.

We will be in the Erie Canal in the morning. The entrance is less than two miles from the marina. The weather promises rain and possibly snow over the next few days.