I’m on a Mother Fishin’ Boat!

Actually I’m not. In this picture I’m on a mother fishin’ crain, well actually, a “bucket truck“, about 40 feet off the ground, more or less directly over the forward mast step. (There’s the forward maststep at the center of the bottom edge of the photo.)

The reason I’m up here is because about three minutes after I snapped this pic, we untethered the aft mast and rocked it forward to the bucket so I could cut away the mismade rigging and install the correctly made rigging.

Naturally, when we got the point there the mast was supported only by the bucket, the skies opened up an it started raining like it was the end of the world, and all I could do was stand there and wait for the rain to stop.

Then, as we re-stepped the mast, me still in the bucket, 40 feet in the air giving directions, things got, well, confused, and I wasn’t able to do anything but stand there in the bucket and watch. Water torture and psychological torture all in one day.

I had hoped we’d get the foremast up today as well. But by the time I was back on the grown and the aftermast was secure, I was soaked through to the skin and hyper-adrenalized, so we called it a day. By the time I got home I had the post stress jitters and nearly threw up on the lawn.

No one got hurt. No parts were damaged. No equipment was damage. One mast is standing and secure.

Victory!

And I got this very nice overhead view of MON TIKI. You can see the two hulls, six hatches that open to her various interior spaces, and her vast deck.

Below is a photo of the (so tantalizingly close!) harbor.