After a vacation break, I returned to work on Bolero.  Her shipment across country wasn't scheduled to begin for a couple weeks, but as I had other jobs beginning almost immediately, I took advantage of an otherwise free day to do as much preparation for the shipment as I could.

I began by loading various gear into the bow compartment:  a couple boxes of miscellaneous parts, three sails, the new wire rigging, bilge pump hose, and other equipment.  I used foam to wrap any sharp or hard objects to protect them and the adjacent surfaces.  I also secured some heavy plastic over the mast partners with tape to prevent water from entering the cabin once the boat moved outdoors for the transport.

Next, I built two sturdy mast horses to support the mast on deck for transport.  I built the horses of 2x4 lumber, and wrapped the bases in foam and cotton sheeting to protect the deck.

I installed two new 2" straps to secure the boat to the trailer, after carefully wrapping the straps in foam and cotton sheeting to protect the contact surfaces.

Later, I moved the boat to the work bay and hoisted the mast up on deck with my crane, and set it in the horses.  I temporarily tied it in place so I could move the boat back over to the secondary bay for continued indoor storage; since the mast was longer than the shop, I angled the boat in the bay to allow the door to close.  Finally, I ordered some smaller ratchet straps to use to secure the mast to the deck, and to secure the boom to the trailer prior to transport.

That chore, and a few minor details, were all that remained, which I'd take care of in the near future.

Total Time on This Job Today:  5.25  hours

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