Volunteers create another "How I made this" story to tell.

 There had to be several big sighs of relief on deck Saturday when the Volunteer crew broke for a well-deserved lunch laid out from Hunter.   

We all knew what was ahead.  Tony Marchesani was first to arrive in the morning at 0900  and immediately set upon the Main boom, to advance the preservative/sealant project with a fifth coating.  When Ken Fonville, Dave Lazar, Nate Mack, and Dan Maurin, mustered minutes later, there were several choices of more fun projects to take on, but one stood out as the most onerous,, and of course, the most urgent. 

Six weeks ago, Doug Hartley
and Danny Johnson examine
 a brand new mast hoop,
still bolted-up-very tight
 and sturdy.

 Four new mast hoops needed to be mounted on the masts.  I say onerous because of the condition of the new-freshly fabricated hoops to be mounted.
  Sure, they were brand new, oak, recently(as of six-weeks ago) linseed-oiled up, with the six-bolt/nut combinations for each hoop long ago removed. We had anticipated soon winding the splines of the hoops around the mast like a huge key ring, simply squeezing the hoops back into their circular shape-lining up the holes for reinserting the bolts that would hold the hoops in their circular shape around the mast. 

Weeks later, Bryan Oliver and
Mikell Evatt grimace at the
 enlarged mast hoops left
alone for weeks.

There was a problem.  After delays of six weeks with no thru-bolts holding the hoops in their circular shape, they started stretching back out, so that they were now, at least twice the diameter as when they had been delivered. Normally these thick oak battans strips are first steamed, to soften them sufficiently to be forced into a tight circle.  Now, after six weeks, these strips were well on their way to returning to  natural state. 

Without a steam trunk to restore flexibility, we were going to have to force these battans back into a tight circular shape without splintering anything.  The previous week, a few of us had figured out a method, involving a come-along  cinch Strap, vaseline, seine-twine and various C-clamps, to gradually compress and squeeze the bands sufficiently around the mast to align holes for reinserting the bolts.

Tony Marchesani, Dave Lazar and Ken Fonville
work to compress their hoop another 8 inches
 to align the bolts.

So, with resolve, we divided into teams of three to mount the remaining three mast-hoops onto the fore and main masts. Each hoop required about 45 minutes of  pinching, pulling, screwing, mallet-whacking, and sailor-cussing.  It helped that Tony, finished with the main boom, and Doug Hartley appeared midway thru the operation to pitch in, providing roughly four hands on each hoop. 

Hunter laid out a much-welcomed
cold lunch with plenty of hydration.

By lunch time, two hoops had been wrestled back into shape, and a third was set up and waiting to be tightened after lunch. 

Temps pushing the nineties, all took in copious amounts of water thru-out the morning, and downed a jug of cold iced tea during lunch. 

Bryan, Dave, Tony, and Doug
 work an eye splice into the end of
their new heaving line.

Once the third hoop was finally set, the team collapsed under the shade and tapped the ice water jug, while Bryan strung out 250 feet of newly acquired Hempex 1/4" rope and cut it to five 50' lengths.  Remainder of the afternoon was kicked back practicing splicing an eye into the end of each  fifty-foot length, to be cow-hitched onto our weighted shotbags as new heaving lines.

Two eye splices were satisfactorily completed when the time came to secure all tools and equipment and muster off.  So, plenty of fun left for the next Volunteer day.