GroupWBench

…Stays on the boat. (Unless someone happens to not stay on the boat…)

We had yet another day of work on the boat on this Independence Day. Chores are moving ahead. We dropped the mast the other day to put an extender on the forestay so our mast will look more like a mast and less like a thirty foot bow waiting for an arrow. We have been varnishing new bulkheads and after five coats of varnish they now have the required glossy goodness expected on a boat. We have also finished about 90% of the rewiring so that the boat won't burst into flames if a switch gets thrown on now.

Moving back to the title of the post, part of the whole concept of a boat is that it keeps you separate from the water. It is a bubble of protection gliding over and through the surface while you remain safe and dry.

A couple of weeks back, a person on our boat (I'm forbidden to name that person) was preparing to step off as we docked to catch the remaining momentum and help us come to a smooth stop in the slip. I was at the helm as we came to the slip while the Unnamed Person was forward preparing to gracefully alight. I put the boat into neutral a bit early and we didn't really have quite enough momentum to get into the slip. When I realized the situation, I threw the engine into gear and gave it a goose. Suddenly, we had enough momentum and then some. I dropped it into reverse and gave it some gas as Unnamed Person hopped to the pier. As she Unnamed Person left the boat, I managed to skillfully bring it to a stop by tapping the bow gently against the wood at the end of our slip.

It turns out that when Unnamed Person hopped onto the pier I had given that anonymous person enough momentum to keep on going and fall into the water in our neighbors slip. All in all it was a pretty minor epic to survive. I swore secrecy regarding the identity of the person whom grace deserted and whose charm was all wet.

Today we had another instance of not staying on the boat…or at least on the dock. Raising the mast is a bit of an awkward struggle. There are wires and lines all over the top of the boat looking to get tangled. The mast starts out attached at the foot and sticking out across the throughway for other boats. Then one person stands under the mast at the back of the boat and starts lifting it and walking forward while another person holds the main halyard while standing on the dock in front of the boat and pulling to help lift the mast to vertical. As it goes up, it tries to tip off to on side or another and it takes some muscle from the lifter and running side to side by the puller to keep the mast from heading off sideways. We had someone from a neighbor boat helping today to watch out for tangles as we lifted the mast.

Everything was going just fine. Ivy was lifting, I was pulling, and we were managing to keep the mast going fairly straight. Things were going so good with the mast about 85% of the way up that I decided to just go for a swim. Well…actually I took a step back to get a last heave to pull the thing to vertical. Unfortunately, there was no dock behind me to step on to. I felt like the tricycle guy on Laugh In as I slowly tipped back into the water while fiercly holding on to the line attached to the top of the mast. By the time I surfaced, our boat neighbor had grabbed the line and Ivy had locked herself behind the mast making sure it stayed up.

About the time I hit the water, the mast had come up to vertical and was stopped by the stainless  steel backstay. The line I was holding as tight as I could zipped through my clenched fingers as I tried and failed to catch myself. Yes, you can get amazing friction burns and blisters from running a narrow rope between your fingers. Ouch.

Oh, well. The mast is up and the rigging is done. Cocoanut rum with ice and pineapple/orange juice did wonders for the hot fingers.

Now for the serious stuff. Not twenty minutes after I hauled my soggy self out of the water a certain Unnamed Person was on the phone laughing as that person told a friend about me going over backwards into the drink.  This is the same person who I had gone to lengths to protect from ridicule over her clumsy exit from the boat and dive into the water. I hadn't told a soul. But, was there reciprical respect? Hmmm, I think not. If you notice here, I have yet to name that person. A promise is a promise after all. I'm taking the high road here.