I arrived at the ship storage at Navajo state part at around 9:30 after a couple of errands and Frank was already busy prepping the ship. We hooked up the trailer to the truck and I eased her out of her spot. We moved the trailer to the other side of the warf under the mast hoist. Some bozo had parked their Lake Boat (one of those living room pontoons of which I don't see the fun, but each to its own I guess) close to the hoist so it was tricky to get her positioned but we managed.
Echo under the mast hoist with Mike and Frank
Frank had asked his buddy Mike to help us and he operated the hoist. The hoist is basically a big rig with a long metal wire connected to a gearbox that is operated with an electric drill. We fashioned a sling around the mast and we hoisted the sling up to the crossbar (I have to learn all these new nautical terms, since I am pretty sure it is not called the crossbar) after which we could put pressure on the mast to have it lift up. It was a little stubborn in the beginning, but after a little wiggle it popped out about two feet and it was free. I did find out later that we probably damaged the crossbar with this procedure, since the starboard side (Hey. I'm learning!) seems to have some loose from the mast so that was the first item for the repair list (and it wouldn't be the last). We hoisted the mast up and when it was free I walked it to the stern (I know that much) while Mike was lowering it. The rest or the prepping went pretty smoothly although we did notice that the backstay connection to the mast was broken, so another item for the repair list.
At about 1 PM we were done and went for lunch which was supposed to be just with Frank, his wife and me, but out of nowhere all of his buddies showed up out of the blue, so before we knew it we were having lunch with the six of us. Frank picked up the tab (hey..he had just sold his boat so he is rolling in it, his buddies said :) and we headed out with the trailer to Mike's shop. We checked the tire pressure and had Frank's colleague Josh check the brakes since we heard some mysterious knocking at one of the brakes, but he convinced me that everything was fine (Did NOT get that in writing). Franks wanted to make sure I had the electric brake system dialed in correctly, so he volunteered Mike to ride with me for a couple of miles to make sure. Frank was really helpful throughout the whole process and I can see he is going to miss having Echo around to tinker with although it sounds he has a couple of other boat options so he will be fine, but I told him he could always come and visit her in the bay...And with that I was on my way to California!
Fully strapped down and on my way under a clear blue sky (My case is casting a shadow in the top left corner. Need to replace the case