going up the mast

[allergic1]

Thanks for the advice everyone. The verdict is in -- don't climb the mast! (His mother says thanks )

Someone in my friend's family put a 700 lb 6 foot keel on the boat (for coastal sailing I think), so it might not heel over easily. That's about twice the size of the stock keel. If heeling it doesn't work, the mast shouldn't be too hard to unstep. According to the specs it only weighs 42 lbs. I'm surprised it's that light.

I looked at the mast again the other day and I'm not even sure if the jib halyard is supposed to enter the mast near the forestay connection or if goes through a fairlead there and enters at the masthead. I'm going to enjoy learning about this boat! It's been in my friend's family since 1961 and is in pretty bad shape, really needs some TLC.

[JohnRPollard]

I think you'll manage lowering the mast nicely. It will give you a good opportunity to inspect it and learn how the halyards run, etc.

Just remember that even a fairly light mast can get unwieldy when the lever arm kicks in as it goes horizontal. Here's where your son and friends can be of good help. And always be mindful of overhead power lines when doing any mast dropping/raising.

Those Rhodes 19s are neat boats. My kids have used them in sailing camp, and to this day talk about how much fun they were. Hope you have just as much fun with it!

[fallard]

27' mast and 7' beam? My vote is on unstepping the mast.