Time well spent. The engine now runs! Well, after a fashion. The outside fuel gauge doesn't work. Nor does the alternator. Well, the alternator didn't work when we put the boat away. I think the regulator got fried. I've not had a chance to look into it. Its, on the list. That and, there is still no kill cable. Reverse and forward work, the boat pulls forward and backward on the dock lines. So in theory its mobile.

Meanwhile back at the mast..

Glen pulled the blocks off the base of the mast. This is where all the trouble was originally spotted. Once the blocks were removed, we could see that the aluminum corroded between the block bases but not under the bases themselves. Very odd, that..

Glen's suggestion was to mask off the different areas that needed to be cleaned up. Then, when they have been cleaned up, these areas could be spot painted.

The mast is actually cleaning up better than I'd hoped. There is still a noticeable area of pitting between the lines of holes. I was afraid that it would be eaten away much more than this.

Glen suggested putting backing plates behind the area where these blocks attach. This is at the deck level when the mast is installed. Sort of a "just in case" measure. I like that idea a lot.

At this point the areas to be cleaned up and repainted seem to be growing and merging. All of the paint that's been exposed to the elements comes off as a powder if you touch it. More of the finish is getting beat up as I work on the thing. As always, the project is growing out of bounds. It started from a "Lets do a quick cleanup" and is turning into a "Just strip the entire thing and stop messing about" kind of project. That's a lot of aluminum to strip and finish.

I've burnt up about 10 years of babysitting favors already. I get maybe 3 hours of work for 3 of driving whenever I do get time. Then it hits me. If I take the mast home. I can work to my heart's content while babysitting!

How do you haul a 51' mast to your house?

Bob Plowman! Otherwise know as 058 on the Banderlog board. Bob owns the Deli in Castro Valley that carries the Banderlog Chocolate Bombers. That would be Katy Lu's. Bob is also an independent trucker and grew up on Alameda. Man! You couldn't get a better fit than that!

And he has a 40 foot flatbed trailer..

I had one of those typical stay home mom days. 10 AM Shelby has to go to preschool. Bob calls and wants to know if we are going to haul the mast today.

Call Tony; "Tony I need help in a big way! I need someone to help carry the sailboat mast off a truck."

"When?"

"I ah.. Donno', wait let me call Bob."

Call Bob; "If this works out, when can you get here?"

"Where do you live? Can the boatyard load the truck? Can I turn the truck around there?"

"Donno' I'll call Art.."

Call Art; "Can two people carry this thing? Can you load it on a truck if I send one? Can I borrow the saw horses, pleeeeze?"

Call Bob; "Yeah no problem.. When do you think everything will happen?"

On and on.. And I had to make sure the kids all got to the dentist at 3:30. But of course the dentist wouldn't take our insurrance..

Bob was within 10 minutes of his arrival estimate. Tony , of jimbo's bass boat fame, showed up just as we were unstrapping the behemoth off the truck. Julie was laughing at me freaking out. "See what its like to be a stay home mom?"

I survived and everything worked out fine.

Spit-N-Bailingwire suddenly has company on the driveway.

Now I'll I have to do is to get off my lazy behind and get this thing finished up!

Oh! And while writing this, the kill cable showed up. This came from another Banderlogger, WOWCHAD. His family owns a cable company in Wisconsin. THANKS CHAD!!

The story on the cable is that we are trying to solve the locked up J/35 kill cable problem, once and for all. This cable is really nifty in that it is completely sealed. But it may take some work to fit it on the engine. More on that later.