Dropping the mast was a stressful proposition as raising it had been a nightmare both times. The mast was old heavy aluminum, and the forces being exerted combined with the leverage placed on all the components worried me. I rigged up the boom to act as a lever arm, and used the main sheet to do all the work of lowering it. I also ran a precautionary line from the back stay to the stern rail just to be safe. We had another couple people helping out, but in the end the mast lowered very slowly and smoothly. It was as uneventful as I could have hoped for.
After saying goodbye to everyone and tidying up I took a moment to pause in the companionway hatch to think about my boat. It had been almost a year ago that I had bought it. She had come a long way. There are a lot of cosmetic problems that I fixed, and some that I inflicted over my ownership of her. I had traveled over a hundred miles aboard her over the course of the summer. It wasn't quite as grand as I had planned, but there are times when you just need to take a step back and re-evaluate what's going on. My trip to Manitowoc had been my final sail. Had I known I may have carried it out with a bit more fanfare, but still it seemed a fitting time to say goodbye to my boat. It wasn't just the last sail of the season, but the last I would ever have on her. I'm thankful she sold so quickly, so I wouldn't have time to change my mind. Still I'd like to get her cleaned up for the next owner.
Mark helped steer while I rowed my 8 foot pram dinghy. The key to effectively pulling such a heavy boat by such primitive means is to use a very long line to absorb the shock as you row. We were making probably a knot-an-a-half over toward the boat ramp. We tied up and I ran errands until the moving company came to pull her out.
The big semi trailer backed down the boat ramp and easily slid Aequitas up out of the water. I had forgotten how pretty she looked when you could see all of her. Admittedly she needed some cleaning. Algae had grown on the one side exposed to the sun, and I could see the chunk of fiberglass that had been taken out of the bow from that fateful failed voyage with the Bradings.
After the stands were in place on the old road I went to work cleaning off the slime. I only had one sponge and no water to use, so it kind of just mixed in with the paint, and has since flaked off into a very unattractive finish. I intend to patch up the bow, scrub off the flakes, and if I can get around to it, apply some more varnish to the woodwork. I want the next owners to have as little reason for remorse as possible. She is after all a strong seaworthy boat, I just can't give her the life she deserves right now. I daresay I'm leaving her better than I found her though. She got to get out on the water and ride around happily on the waves. I'm sure it won't be long before she's back out there, reunited with one of her previous owners. I am still quite anxious to find if he has any information into her history.
