Tripod and trailer

This is the swiveling head of the tripod. The mast will sit on this bed of braided rope and then tied down with rachet tie downs.
Note the furry consulting engineers making their final inspection.

The swively rollery thing

So this is the unit on the ute that the mast sits in. The 3 boat trailer rollers are on stainless steel shafts, in a steel frame. The whole unit swivels. A couple of eye-bolts are welded into the top, and a chain will be shackled across the top, but apart from that the mast is free to move forward and back and swivel during cornering.

Ute and trailer after mods

So here the rig ready to pick up the mast. The draw-bar has a 4.6 metre extension on it, made from 75mm x 75mm box section stell. This is bolted in place with a couple of large bolts and two U-bolts. The draw-bar also has wiring which acts as an extension cord for the existing trailer wiring to the ute. The idea being that I can remove the draw-bar extension within a couple of minutes and I have my standard light trailer back again.
The trailer has a tri-pod, mounted just forward of the axle, and this has a swiveling head to allow the load to move when cornering. The ute also has a swiveling head which also incorporates rollers to allow the mast to move for'd and aft as the load "shortens" when cornering.

If you want a job done ...do it yourself

So, I still have this problem of how to get the mast from Napier.
I also realised that using a carrier was potentially more risky, and probably expensive, than I first thought. An 11.5 metre mast was one thing but there was also the standing and running rigging, which needed to be removed from the mast, to be shipped. And there was boom, traveller, mast step and sails.
So, I figured "I have a ute and trailer !", with a few "minor" modifications I could go to Napier and collect everything myself.
Here's the shot of the ute and trailer before mods.

Mizzen Mast turns up on Trade-Me

Another incredible bit of luck. This boat is only 10 years old and not had a lot of use. The owner says he is making the boat more "family friendly" buy building a fully enclosed wheelhouse. But the Mizzen is stepped in the cockpit, so must go.
I buy the mast, boom, all rigging, mast step, traveller, sail, and sail cover for $5,500. Bargain !!!
Trouble is it's in Napier, 650km away. I approach the guys who I used to pick up my main and they came up with a figure of $2,500 to collect it, mainly because they wanted to charge the normal hourly rate of a senior rigger to do the job. I contacted two freight companies, one that never came back with a price. The other quoted $800 to get it from Napier to their Auckland depot, which still had the mast 230km away, and still left me with the problem of getting it to Russell.
Lesson learned. Try telling a freight company you have a load that is 11.5 metres long, and expect a big price or a long silence.

Found my Main mast on Trade-Me

Incredible bit of luck really. A guy in Ruawai (near Dargaville) has a 50ft ocean racer that he is converting to a junk rig. It's a 21metre, 3 spreader, keel stepped mast. Is complete with boom, standing rigging, running rigging etc etc.

I go for a drive with a rigger from Opua with a specially modified ute and trailer to collect it.

What I need is a 17 metre deck stepped mast, and it is current in Opua being modified.

Update for the last few months

Again, I have to confess to not being a very good blogger. It was May when I was rebuilding the cockpit well and made the last entry.

Here's a bit of a summary of what's happened since then :
Cockpit well painted inside and out.
Companionway lined with steel plate and brackets for steps in place.
Curved companionway steps laminated and epoxy'd, ready for paint and install.
Aft cabins, sole framing in place.
Master cabin en-suite framed and plated.
Engine heat exchanger mounted just forward and below the engine.
Cooling system header tank in place.
Thrust bearing supports for "Aqua-Drive" in place.
Found the ideal propeller on Trade-Me (25x18).
Prop shaft cut to length and new taper & thread machined.