Mast is back up finally!Below are pics of her tied up at the overseas terminal, and my mixings for making up some red lead paint to line the mast step. You can still buy the stuff ready mixed for a lot of money from chandleries, but it is way cheaper to make up yourself: It's just a mixture of powdered lead tetroxide, boiled linseed oil and a drying agent. You can sometimes get the lead powder from potters' supplies as it is used in glazeware. You're not allowed to deal in it any more but most suppliers have some out the back somewhere left over from when the ban came in, and are glad to get something for it. I think I've just about cleaned all the locals out though now! It's rather silly, considering that epoxies are just as, if not more, poisonous.
Anyway, now she looks a little more like a boat. Trouble with the starboard backstay though: The pin that attaches is to the mast cap is stiff, and I have to go up and bang it back into alignment. What a pain. Still, the rigging fits very well. Croft carriers who I hired the hiab from are great. Quickly and effiently done, and they only charged $40.
I quite like the view of the boat from above - you can get a good idea of how strong she is in the hips.
