- Loosened backstay 1 turn.
- Loosened uppers 1 turn.
- Loosened forward lowers another turn.
- Loosened four bolts at the base of the mast.
- Attempted to lift mast by cleating the spinnaker halyard on both sides of the mast leaving loop nearly sufficient for me stand with the halyard over my shoulders. No luck moving the mast.
- Tightened ratcheting tiedown two clicks.
- Struck the aftside of the mast a number of times at the base with a rubber mallet. Mast moved forward about 5/16".
- A few more blows moved the mast forward a total of 1/2", till the washers below the bolts at the base of the mast prevented further movement. See photo below. The black line partially obscured by the boomvang shackle is the previous location of the aft side of the mast step plate.
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- Tried cutting 1/4" fiberglass to make backing plates of the chainstays. No luck. Using my father's Craftsman saber saw, the hi-carbon blades dulled completely, shedding their teeth.
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- Moving on to the v-berth project, removed a dozen #2 Robertson screws from the forward, inboard and aft sides of the port v-berth platform. Heads of two screws stripped. All screws were sunk deep into the plywood and covered with a gray putty that had hardened to near rock-like. Material was so thick and hard that I believed, at first, that the screws where #1 Robertson. The only thing holding the v-berth is the fiberglass tape, two layers(?), along the inside of the hull.
After:
Before:
