CARRYING AWAY A MAST The best thing to do, if the weather is very heavy, is to unreeve sheets, tacks, lanyards, and tackles of shrouds, and ride to the wreck, as it will make a capital floating anchor. When the weather moderates, the mast can be got alongside, the gear cleared, and the sail got on board. In a large vessel the mast will probably be too heavy to handle, and will have to be made fast astern. In a small yacht the mast may be rigged as a jury mast. Supposing the mast has been carried away five or six feet above the deck, put the heel of the mast against the stump on the aft side so that it cannot fetch away; take the lower main halyard block forward to stem head ; put guys on the masthead, and lead one to each side of the yacht. Lift the masthead, and set taut by the main halyards, and when the latter have got sufficient purchase hoist the mast to a perpendicular, steadying by the guys. When upright lash the mast to the stump, seize bights in the shrouds to shorten them, and set up by the lanyards. If the mast be worked round to the fore side of the stump, the boom gooseneck can be shipped as before. Set the mainsail reefed or double reefed as required, or set the trysail.
If the mast be carried away close to the deck, unship the stump, and step a spare spar to lash the heel of the mast to. Or the broken mast could be stepped. In this case it would be better to improvise sheers by taking a couple of spars, such as topsail yard and trysail gaff; and, after lashing their ends together, rear them over the mast hole, one leg in either scupper. A tackle should be lashed to the apex of the
sheers for hoisting the mast by. Beep the sheers in their place by guys leading forward and aft.
Sheers might be used for getting the mast and boom on deck, or for rearing the mast on end at first, by rigging them aft, when the heel of the mast is to be lashed on deck.
In case of a mast being carried away close under the hounds, pre parations for getting the rigging and halyards aloft again can be made by throwing a line over the masthead, and hauling a tackle to pull a man aloft by. If the masthead is carried away, the main halyard block can be lashed above the rigging round the yoke. The peak hoisted by one of the topping lifts, or by a couple of blocks of the peak halyards, one to be lashed to the masthead over the main halyard block.
When the masthead is badly sprung above the yoke, but is kept from falling by the topmast, let fly the jib sheets, heave the vessel to, and lower the mainsail as quickly as possible. Lower the topmast half-way down, and lash the heel to the mast. Unhook main and peak halyard blocks, and unreeve jib halyards. Then prepare for rehoisting mainsail as if the mast head were carried away. The topmast will keep the mast head from falling.