rigging the main mast

Nice enough to get out side today and start putting the hardware back on the main mast.  Not exactly warm, but at least sunny.
Yes, as  couple of friends pointed out, it is the mild acidic nature of ketchup that makes it good for cleaning up stained silicon bronze hardware.  There are the screws after a night in a bag with Heinz ketchup.

The first thing I did was put the goose neck track in place.  All screws, both the silicon bronze and the stainless steel screws used with the eye straps, were bedded with silicone caulking.  That will minimize water finding its way in through the screw holes and also makes it easier to remove the screws when I need to do some maintenance.  Just about all the the screws, save for two where I adjusted the height of the peak halyard block, went into hardwood dowels that I put in place last November.

I did the eye straps for the throat halyard and the boom bails I use, below, to support the topping lift, peak halyard and jib sheet blocks.  The halyards will wait to be put on, but the lazy jacks, bow stay and shrouds are in place.  When I took the hardware off  I took some photos and made several notes.  I'm very glad to have done that.  It was surpising how much I had forgotten about the details of the fittings.

The last thing on today was the JW pennant.  I'll hope for nice weather next weekend so I can pull Spartina out of the garage, clean up here interior, run the halyards through the blocks and set the masts in place.

And maybe the week after that I'll get some fuel and crank up the outboard.  And after that there won't be much to do but hope for warm weather.

steve