In-step with un-stepping

I ran a little search for information concerning the right way to take the mast down on my lovely Houdini. I found much about wiring a mast and some new-fangled religious exposition about tabernacles. But, aside from these ecumenical forays, I can find nothing about the proper order of relaxing stays and shrouds and the eventual lowering of the timber--and nothing of resurrecting the tree upon the completion of my next undertaking toward Houdini's ineluctable perfection. Avast ye lofty luminaries! Speak of the accepted and arcane protocol! I feel Ebb warming-up even now.

Our method was to bring the boat under a crane and attach a line under the spreaders. Then we just removed the shrouds, detached the wires and hoisted the mast free. Of course, by fastening the hoist line around the spreaders, the base of the mast wanted to rear up . . . :eek:

That was the easy part. The reverse was a real "Chinese Fire Drill." :rolleyes:

Here is a short article on lowering a deck stepped mast...ed

http://www.pineapplesails.com/articl...tep_rig_tn.htm

If this works, here are some interesting photos of how this gent did it on his Pearson 26. I plan to try his system this fall when my Ariel hits the hard.

http://pearsoninfo.net/26/unstepping...ast_photos.htm

Dan