With ribald comments we roughly took his virginity
'Sarf & West mate, Sarf & West'
Pete Bernfeld
Mon 23 Apr 2012 08:46
Not quite what you're thinking though, you dirty minded little grebe. This morning I decided to bite the bullet and go up the mast. Naturally, we found that the halyard winch had seized up so had to stip it and give it a good seeing to (might as well keep you in supenders as long as possible).
After a damn good greasing (well OK we used spray but it did sound 'in character', didn't it?) Butto attempted to winch me up (the mast). It was hard going (steady tiger) and obviously something was amiss, so I took a quick look at the first set of spreaders to see what tools I'd need to take the bent strut off and after a while Butto figured out how to release the locking-lever and let me back down.
Arun the Elektrik was in attendance, fitting the achor windlass, yes it is now in situ, works but needs new 200 amp wires (sob). He volunteered to go up the mast and fit the new VHF antenna and check the masthead lights. No go, somehing was badly amiss. He's only 82kgs so it shouldn't be much of a problem, even with a single-speed winch. We sent another line up the mast attached to the empty bosuns chair and 'worked it' up and down. A small avalanche of dust came down the mast, but the action seemed a bit easier. Being the lightest by 20kgs, Butto was'volunteered' to try the next ascent. With a slightly raised heart-rate and wobbly legs, he was bundled scarcely protesting into the chair and slowly hoiked up to the top to take a general look around. His first time up a mast.
!The willing 'volunteer', no longer a virgin mast ascender and now boasting about it!
After 'the report', Arun decided that he would go up the mast first thing tomorow. The former virgin and I set about making sure that the lines inside the mast were untangled.They are now, so we'll see if things are any easier tomorrow.
Some people like the sound of breaking glass Some people like the 'rrrrrrrippp' of velcro. Personally I'm rather partial to the sound of silk sliding over nlon, but that's another story.
The two units will be velcroed together by the vertical strips. I'm then going to screw and glue four base plates to the wall and then attach four horizontal arms, which I'll then velcro onto either side of the units. A baton in front of the two units and they should be secure enough for government work and be removable for cleaning (yes, yes I know but just occasionally, say once a year or so and anyway I might have crew, who knows?)
--
http://roastbeefonsundays.blogspot.com/