by Peterw11 » Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:21 am
Sorry to hear about your difficulties, but take comfort in knowing that whatever happened, it could have always been worse.
You could have been a mile away from the dock, all your rigging could have gone over the side, and conked you on the head in the bargain.
And the guy who towed you back could have been somewhere else.
That said, it sounds like the pin popped out of the chainplate and let the shroud loose. The circular retainer clip musn't have been on all the way.
Not a hard thing to overlook, especially on your first try.
Did you dry sail it first, before you hit the water?
Before I took my DS to the lake for the first time, I rigged it while still on the trailer in my driveway, just to make sure I knew how to do it correctly, had all the parts on hand, and looked somewhat competent in front of the other boaters at the launch ramp. I printed out the owner's manual from this site, and went through the rigging procedure step by step, just so I felt comfortable knowing I did everything correctly.
Of course, despite my precautions, I managed to screw up the installation of the gooseneck into the slot, and was about 50 feet away from the launch ramp when the boom popped out of the slot and dropped to the cuddy. Fortunately, the wind was light and there was no one else around to notice my gaffe, so I was able to correct it without looking like a schmuck.
Nothing goes perfect the first few times out. Especially if you're new to sailing
You mentioned the tabernacle got bent up a bit. It it's just the ears where the long pins insert, they can be straightened pretty easily. If the tabernacle surfaces are cocked out of plumb, you have to address that before you rig it again. You don't want the mast pointing anywhere but straight, directly in line with the bow and the rudder.
If it tilts to one side or the other, that's a no-no. Either the mast is bent, or the tabernacle surfaces, or both.