by SMichelsen » Sun Sep 30, 2018 9:00 am
Greenlake, sorry that my earlier post was not clear enough - I am in fact using the line from the bow as a temporary forestay AFTER I raise the mast. I raise it, tie it off, get out of the boat/trailer, connect the "real" forestay and remove the temporary one. And yes the shrouds are in place - In fact I never remove them.
I do try to rotate the mast up as "straight" as possible; however I suppose that there could be some side-to-side motion happening as it goes up. Also I notice that there might be some slack in the shrouds, as the mast may have some sway in it after it's up, and before I replace the temp line. I will attempt to capture this on video and post it in the next few days.
I may be "just the latest newbie" to discover this, but it occurs to me that the connection of the mast at the deck goes through more stress sitting on its trailer than while on the water. At least when the boat is floating, the whole thing moves together. On the trailer, the mast may sway but the boat is locked in place. Of course there's no way around this but to be as careful as possible when raising and lowering, I suppose. AND be sure the shrouds are tight.
As you suggested, I have been considering epoxying some support on the underside of the deck to stiffen it around the mast.
Of course, on top of my inexpert handling, being a 32 year old boat with multiple owners, there's no telling "where it's been" or what misadventures it may have had in the past.
Steve