Improved Weather Helps Volunteers tackle the Schooner's Big Rigging

Slowly, steadily, interrupted only by the Holidays, Volunteers have been working on-deck projects to prepare Spirit of South Carolina for her upcoming delivery and time in Shipyard; the 10-Year Deep Inspection- Shipyard required of all USCG Inspected Sailing vessels. This shipyard will require the un=stepping of our Schooner's masts and taking apart the metal fittings, collars, shackles to inspect for rot, fatigue, anything that would compromise the rig for the conditions she'd be expected to endure; in our case, not near-shore/intercoastal, but sea-going. 

In spite of near freezing weather over the past month, Volunteers had succeeded in bringing down the massive gaff and boom spars from the Fore and Main masts, and lashing them to the deck for sea. The foremasts running rigging-sheets, halyards, preventers, vangs, downhauls, had all been down-rigged, measured for length and replacement, coiled and stowed below in the forecastle.  The Mainmasts gaff and huge boom, likely a ton's worth of Douglas Fir, had also been lowered onto the deck.  Now what remained was taking down all the Mainmast's running rigging, blocks and tackles, and likewise labeling, measuring, coiling, and stowing.

This Saturday,  promised a sunny day, no wind and warming temps into the 50's , a welcome change from the past month's blasts.

 Six volunteers mustered aboard, sometimes struggling to keep their footing on 3 inches of frozen snow that remained on the deck and the dock from four previous days of snow and freezing. As usual, the electrical power from the dock had tripped off, requiring 3 separate long walks to the pedestal to reset breakers and try a different sequence of power circuit switch. Hopefully, the bilge pump switch would work weekend.  

Lance sets the tape measure,
while Walter marks off the first ten feet.

Bryan quickly mapped out the tasks to be performed, and noted the additional safety precautions to be attended due to icy decks, and heavy falling halyards they came off the blocks aloft. Lance Halderman and Walter Barton grabbed masking tape, a long tape measure from the tool locker, and a couple of Markers, to layout measured distances the length of the finger dock all the way to the  Museum, about 250 feet.  

The rest of the Volunteers, Wayne Burdick, Danny Johnson, Ken Fonville, Ryan Smith, and Bryan Oliver, took stations to down rig the throat, then peak halyards. Both lines, together totaled just less than 1000 feet of 1 and 1/8 ' diameter three-strand rope, running through massive double blocks, shackled aloft and  on deck, at the already lowered spars.  The rest of the day is best described in the photos below, thanks to Danny Johnson, and Walter Barton.

Ryan unfouls the Peak Halyard fouled by loose lazyjacks,
 while Ken repositions the turning block to allow the halyard to run.

Wayne hauling down the the Peak halyard Jigger end,
 overhauling the peak halyard thru it's four block sheaves
 down to the pile at his feet.

Danny starts the haul of the throat halyard
 from it's pile on the deck
 all the way to the base of the dock
 before doubling back to lay out its total of 405 feet.

Danny Johnson stands by after handing off
 the bitter end of the throat halyard to Lance
 who is feeding it to Walter, building the huge
coil at his feet.

 

Ryan shoulders all 405 feet of 1 inch Throat halyard
down the gangway into the waiting arms
of Bryan below in the forecastle.

Ryan ready to hand down the Throat Halyard to Bryan in the Forecastle Hatch.

Danny Johnson at far end with the peak halyard
having stretched its 526 feet back down the dock
 for labeling and coiling.

With two huge coils of line stowed below and four equally huge running blocks unshackled from their spars, labeled and displayed on a PFD Locker for their next steps of maintenance, Volunteers took on one last volunteer task.  At the request of Bryan Oliver, the crew piled into cars and converged on the LowCountry Maritime Society boat yard where Bryan had brought is Beetle Cat(boat) for its own haulout and overhaul. In short order they had the hull off the trailer, gently sat on the thick soft sawdust stall floor, then tipped over, and lifted up onto sawhorses. For all that, Bryan will offer free sailing lessons, plus a solo, if they can help him get her back on the trailer after a project of sanding, sealing, and repainting.

Lance, Bryan, and Ryan,
with "Sean O."  Bryan's Beetle Cat

Ryan, Lance and Wayne tip over 

Bryan's Beetle Cat for lifting up onto sawhorses.

Six Volunteers Scorn the ominous Weather to Down-rig Spirit of South Carolina's Mainmast spars.

 It was epic, I gotta tell ya.. six of us, just the conditions made it so.  This Saturday was supposed to be another washout, the third in a row. Rains to start first thing in the morning and predicted all day long. The official call to postpone went out to the six volunteers who signed up, with a option to come aboard anyway and we would make a decision whether or not to proceed with lowering the Main Mast gaff and boom to the deck, based on actual weather conditions. 

Not expecting  many, I boarded early at 0830 to make some coffee and lay out the donut assortment on the saloon table.    Tony Marchesani was already on board when I arrived. The first setback was discovered.  No electrical shore power to the schooner.  The circuit breaker at the pedestal kicked out, as it seems to do each week. Without it, we couldn't boil water for tea or cocoa,, or brew coffee, anything warming, let alone the little space heater under the saloon table to take the chill out.  Three separate attempts to reset the pedestal circuit breaker finally resulted in a durable connection. 

 As coffee was being brewed, Danny Johnson came down the dock with tools and lumber to finish off the low step-up platform to the gangway he had started last week. Behind him came Wayne Burdick, and Scott Cross.  The rain hadn't yet started, and looked to be iffy for the next hour, so, around 0900 we mustered at the Mainmast and discussed the project to take down the gaff and main boom to the deck, before any rain started.

Everyone seemed willing to get something done.  At that time Helen Fogarty appeared at the dock, a sailor and friend of  Danny's, she'd come down to learn more about the schooner, maybe volunteer.   All total that was six willing deck hands-two short of what would be a comfortable crew for the job, yet we could still make some progress.  With the rain still off to the west somewhere, we dove in.  

We made short work of getting the gaff down onto the deck port-side. While Wayne cut the parrel bead string  to free the jaws off the mast, Wayne and Tony cast off the throat and peak halyard coils, and stood by to lift the gaff a few inches off so Bryan and Scott could pull the gaff out and over to the port side.  At Bryan's command, Wayne and Tony lowered away together, and the gaff slowly lowered and settled snugly against the bulwark between the riding bitt aft and the port side Main pinrail.   

Now the rain was starting to appear, first sprinkles then filling out.  But we were fairly charged up, and without discussion, jumped to the Main boom. We had, earlier at muster, already discussed how we would loose and maneuver the massive spar off the mast, over to starboard, then lowered by combination of throat and peak halyard and boomlift. It was going to be a complicated, highly coordinated effort, requiring all of us to perform multiple tasks.  

While Scott walked aft to downrig the boom's port and starboard quarter tackles, Bryan climbed down below into the forecastle and tossed up to Helen on deck, the two coiled mainsail vangs, to be used as tag lines.  Helen and Danny made one end of each vang line fast, one to  the boom's tack iron, and  other to the mainsheet collar, running the lines onto the dock. Bryan and Scott created a sling at the booms midpoint and bent on the two peak halyard blocks.  

Rain was steadily increasing, so we paused to zip up foulies, or throw our hoods over.  Wayne went further, donning his bottoms,, an additional step I later wished I had taken. 

Largely heedless of the rain coming down we were all in the same groove.  With Helen on the forward (throat) tagline, Scott aft on the boom sheet collar tagline, Tony and Wayne on the Peak and Throat halyards, Bryan , Danny, and Scott  on the aft tag line attempted to pull the boom's jaws aft and away from the mast.  Didn't budge.   Someone,, Danny or Wayne suggested a handybilly tackle for added purchase. First, Bryan directed that each boom lift be slackened( their angle might be holding the jaws against the mast. No luck, so Bryan opened the lazarette, reached down deep and hauled out the largest 4-to-1 tackles in the pile. Helen rigged a sling over a piling aft, Bryan set an alpine butterfly loop in the boom tack lift tag line, Danny stretched the tackles out, setting  the strop hooks of the opposing handy-billy blocks into the butterfly loop and Helen's sling on the aft piling. Three heaves on the handybilly running line and the boom's jaws eased off the mainmast table and floated free. 

Now a new challenge appeared. With the boom lift slackened, the boom was held up by the peak halyard rigged well forward of the center of balance. the after end of the three-quarter-ton boom started settling down lower, pressing on the taffrail lifelines. Bryan and Wayne quickly teamed up on the starboard boomlift, tensioning it sufficiently to raise to boom end off the life line.  

Now came the orchestration of the team, Scott and Helen on the dock applying force to pull the boom forward and outward, while Tony and  Wayne on the two halyards slowly easing the boom downward onto the deck, Bryan nursing the one boomlift that was holding up the aft end of the boom. 

At this point, we may have noticed that we were thoroughly soaked. I couldn't say for sure, because, instead of just dropping everything and scrambling down to dry cover in the saloon, this crew immediately set to coiling and hanging the heaps of tangled cordage that had accumulated all over the deck. Only when the deck was cleared; the last line was slipped over a pin, loosely dangling  lazy jacks gathered and lashed together to the fife rail, only then did this excellent crew gather round the ladder and clamber down below into the saloon.  Any onlookers from the docks or beyond, gazing our on the curious frenzy going on would've had to wonder at this obviously a professional crew. 

Below decks, the boiler was activated for tea, coffee was poured, and donuts consumed.. I was afraid to turn on the little space heater under the table for fear of tripping the circuit breakers again, so no one really tarried.  Too bad,, this was the time, as foulies were shed,  where jocularity and expletives combined, and stories were borne, where the world shrunk for a few minutes to the saloon, the rain beating on the saloon butterfly hatch, and the shared hardship of shipmates.  Cool.

Volunteers Don't Let the Weather Discourage from Shipyard Prep

 Today was originally planned to be a "barn-raising-style" event, 8 to 12 volunteers teaming up to down-rig the mainmast of her spars and gear.  We volunteers had done it before, and I was planning a Sea food Gumbo Lunch for those who had signed up.  

Then the weather forecast virtually reversed itself the first of last week.  High chance of rain all morning, with temps in low 40's. As the week progressed to Saturday, the forecasted rain disappeared, then things looked better. But by that time, we still had only one sign-up for Volunteers.  The forecast remained cold, high in lower 40's.  I cancelled the planned Volunteer Day/Gumbo feast due to lack of participation, but left open open opportunities for volunteers to come for some deckhand skills  training. 

Saturday morning; clear and cold; breezy, north to northwest. I didn't expect anything, excepting Walter Barton, steadfast regular, who'd indicated he would show up regardless.  I boarded early to check a bilge, try the power for brewing some coffee, and review notes for what projects might be salvaged.  Promptly at 0900 I heard much thumping and gangway jangling overhead of the saloon butterfly hatch. I pushed open the saloon companionway cover to see Lance Halderman drop off the elevated gangway, followed by Walter Barton, Ken Fonville, and Danny Johnson.  Unexpected but welcome!

Lance and Ken using the boomlift
 to raise the foreboom and shift it aft
 and outward. 

Forgetting about my coffee, we immediately mustered up where I explained what I hoped we could accomplished with four instead of eight to twelve volunteers. Danny Johnson had brought with him some 2x4 stock. He was already setting up to construct a shallow platform to span over the dock cleat obstructing the head of the gangway, a long-suffered trip hazard.

 The rest of us organized around the objective of clearing the port side bulwarks of coolers and loose gear. With that space cleared we would lift and shift the three foremast spars, further aft and close up against the bulwark, lashing them down for sea to the timberheads. 

As that effort progressed, someone asked for an update about going to shipyard.  I still had no answer, only conjecture; we still had no Captain until February. No other crew scheduled for coming aboard;  only the promise of eventual delivery to Stephens Towing.   

Lance pointed to the empty deadeye mounted on it's chainplate just aft of the Mainmast shrouds. That brought about my rambling reminiscence the days when the schooner sailed with her main topmast, adding another 25 feet into the sky, and we sailed under "full press" - all sails set. Our stability rating and Coast Guard rules restricted our sailing full press with passengers, which made the experience on deck with topmast, gaff topsail and fisherman flying singular and memorable.

The topmast hasn't been rigged since 2018.

By noon, we had made good work of shifting spars and  rearranging deck gear.  Danny's platform at the head of the gangway worked splendidly.  I apologized for not bringing the gumbo, but hopefully, In the next few Saturdays there'd be an opportunity to serve up some for lunch, if sufficient sign-up's were entered.

Cold Saturday morning encourages a mix of finishing on-deck projects and taking on others down below.

 The Saturday forecast of high 30s to low 40's dampened hopes of getting a good coat of white over Dory's hull today. But that didn't stop us from adjusting.  Dallas Spencer, joined Bryan Oliver for the trek back to his car to load up and haul back to the dock a pair of bronze 4-blade propellers, once used to drive Spirit of South Carolina north to Newport. Now they were salvage.   

Once set aside on the dock, the pair went aboard and aft to the lazarette, where Bryan dove in and hauled out the remnants of 1/2" vintage 3-strand he planned to use for training volunteers for the envisioned  Bloom Knot Challenge.    Returning from some holidays time off, Dallas brought aboard from the dock, a pair of Dory's oars to lace on the oarlock leathers, and adjust the Turks head knots he had created for each end.

 Lance Halderman started the day with grabbing a roll of 2'inch blue masking tape, and applying a line down both sides of Dory's gunwale undersides to protect them from our next paint application. 

 Meanwhile, Ken Fonville took on the task of inspecting the five bilges. As he completed that task, Lance, finished with his taping job, joined Ken in the Engine Room to pump out the Forecastle bilge. 

Danny Johnson arrived on the dock somewhere in all this activity,  made a few recommendations to Bryan with a plan about building a short step/covering for the cleat protruding at the foot of the gangway. Danny then guided Bryan down to the onboard end of the gangway, pointing to the issue with the two suspension lines holding up that end.  They had been run thru short tubes and made off in bowlines.  Unfortunately the sharp edges of the tubes had been gradually cutting into the lines. Additionally they connected to the gangway five inches inside the rail post, creating a potential trip hazard for unsuspecting boarders. 

He had another plan.

Bryan pointed out some scrap rope in the rope locker,  Scott Cross had just arrived so the two teamed up to work some creative rigging, which Danny swore would solve both problems of the chaffing, and the foot obstacle at the end of the gangway. 

All that activity took up about 40 minutes.  Weather was sunny, but uncomfortably cold-breezy, so the crew climbed below for the second half of the morning,, some basic marlinspike skill building. Dallas brought down to the saloon table the 40-foot 1/2" rope recovered from the lazarette, looped in five foot lengths.  

Dallas works a Turks Head
while waiting for shipmates
 to finish their last whipping. 

Ken Fonville recovers a loose needle,
while Scott Cross finishes up the last whipping.

Bryan started the demo/practical exercise with a show-and tell of the contents of the Sail Repair Bag. followed by a demonstration of two types of end whipping.  The objective would be the creation from one long scrap rope, six 5'foot lengths of whipped-end "practice ropes" for use in the Bloom Knot Challenge.   For the remainder of the morning, the crew sat around the saloon table  with a sailors palm and needle, whipping the ends of rope sections, til all six were ready for use. 

Finally came the proofing.  All hands gathered around the fife rail where Bryan explained how the Knot Challenge would work. Six designated knots from the Deckhand Skills Checklist must be completed to a standard within 30 seconds.  The challenge would be open to all Volunteers. Participants who successfully met the challenge will have their name engraved on brass plates on an oak plaque mounted on a common  place in the Saloon.