empire yacht rigging

Mobile Yacht Rigging Service

Central coast | brisbane water | pittwater.

Call to discuss your requirements today

Empire Yacht Rigging is committed to providing a full range of Yacht Rigging services and solutions.

We are more than happy to have a chat about whatever it is that you would like to achieve on your vessel, from a new halyard to a full re-rig. Some of the work we undertake includes: - Running Rigging replacement, including all modern and traditional rope work and splicing

- - Standing Rigging replacement (Re-rigs) and mast servicing

- Dock lines, in covered line or 3 strand in a range of materials - Specialists in servicing, replacing and new instillation of all types of furling systems

- Replacement and re-sealing of chainplates - Rig checks - Winch, clutch, car and purchase system service and replacement - Rig tunes - Sail removal, repair and installations - Lifeline replacement - In-mast electrics and LED upgrades - Spreader leathers and leather work - Birds off solutions - Corrosion servicing, Paint touch-ups and full mast refurbishing - Sheave box and halyard system instillation aloft - Boom brake and vang systems - Range of Dynice products including: soft shackles, soft blocks, loops, strops and low friction solutions, available with or without anti-chafe cover - Dynice Backstay upgrades  - Lazy jack systems - Mast and deck track and hardware installations - Clutch upgrades

- Rig Maintenance Packages

Empire Yacht Rigging is a yacht rigging business located at Empire Bay in Gosford. Situated in the heart of beautiful Brisbane Water we are also just a stones throw from Pittwater and the Hawkesbury.

Growing up sailing and rigging on Pittwater, Daniel is highly experienced and more than happy to have a chat about whatever it is that you would like to achieve on your vessel. We offer high quality, friendly service.

At Empire Yacht Rigging, we believe strongly that complete faith in a vessels rig is not only paramount to safety, but essential for a relaxed and enjoyable time on the water.

We are fully mobile and are more than happy to come to you, even if the vessel lives on a mooring.

Whatever your request may be, E-mail or Call us and we will be happy to help you with your enquiry.   

Empire Bay, Gosford NSW 2257

[email protected]

Contact Daniel:

Tel: 0418987842

Thanks for your enquiry. We'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Yachting Monthly

• Digital edition

Yacht rigging: your essential pre-season rig check guide

• Duncan Kent
• February 7, 2023

Few things are more important during the spring fit-out than a thorough yacht rigging and spar inspection. Duncan Kent runs through the priorities

During the spring fit-out we often appear to lavish far more attention on the engine and electrical systems than we do on the rig, despite the latter presenting a much greater risk to both yacht and crew should it fail in any way. However, because a yacht’s standing rigging has so many possible weak points it can be tricky to predict when any part of it is about to break. Close inspection should be a mandatory element of the pre-season preparations and checks.

A detailed rig check will rarely take more than a couple of hours to complete and should really be carried out prior to any long passage or extended cruise.

There are a number of telltale signs that should be looked for before, or soon after you launch for the new season, and several maintenance tasks that can be carried out to prolong the life of the rigging.

When inspecting your rig, it makes good sense to make an inventory of all the parts and their dimensions, as well as taking photographs of them.

It’s always advisable to un-step the mast every few years to check it over thoroughly at ground level. It makes close inspection of areas like the spreader roots, mast terminals and halyard sheaves much easier. If you are in any doubt about the condition of any part of the rig, it’s worth getting your local rigger to come and have a look.

This level of inspection may also keep your insurance company happy to continue covering an ageing rig, so it is worth doing every few years.

The mast step is a cast fitting under heavy loads and needs a thorough check

I always start the pre-season rig checks by inspecting the spars, commencing with the mast step and foot. The high compression forces on the mast step can put severe strain on both the T-bar (the plate on the deck) and step (the cast fitting that takes the loads in the bottom of the mast tube), particularly if there is any imbalance in the rig tension.

This is also an area where the salt water can gather in a pool, making it very prone to corrosion. Look closely at any rivets around the base and at the mast section itself for signs of corrosion or cracks. Get them looked at by a professional if there are working signs, to evaluate what repairs may be necessary.

With keel-stepped masts it’s especially important to check for corrosion at the foot as often they sit in the damp bilge and, being out of sight, are often overlooked. The same with the deck seal which, if leaking, will cause water to dribble slowly down the mast, creating a puddle at the foot. Replace any seals that are looking worn or perished.

With regards to the boom, first and foremost is the gooseneck. This is a common weak spot on any rig and one that has to withstand massive forces in several different directions when under sail. If it fails it can cause considerable damage, especially if it tears itself out of the mast, which will then be severely weakened. Always remove the main pivot bolt as, though it might look OK from the outside, salt water can drip into and settle inside the guide holes, seriously corroding the bolt just where it can’t be seen.

The gooseneck may look OK but it’s best to remove the securing bolt to check it

As with all the other mast fixtures, check closely for hairline cracks around the gooseneck fitting, either on the mast or on the fitting itself. This is best done using a dye, which will help make cracks more visible to the naked eye.

Other notoriously weak points on the boom are the vang fittings. They undergo similar stress levels under way, so it’s wise to give them the same once-over as the gooseneck.

All mast attachments and their locations are worth recording

Make a rig check inventory

When inspecting your rig for the first time it’s a good idea to make an inventory of all the components and their dimensions. Use a pair of Vernier callipers to note wire and pin diameters and measure the wire lengths as accurately as possible between pin centres at each end with full tension still in the rig.

For later reference, photograph each wire end, terminal, and mast attachment. The same for the lower ends, turnbuckles, toggles, and chain plates, taking note of the positions of the turnbuckles.

If wire stretch means they’re turned up so tight as to not have any further adjustment, compensate for that in your wire length measurement if replacing. The turnbuckles should capture one third of the screw length when fully tensioned.

Check chain plates for corrosion

Turnbuckles

Back at deck-level the turnbuckles (bottle screws) and chain plates must be closely inspected for cracks, rust, wear or distortion. The former require careful scrutiny as they can often sustain damage from misalignment, particularly if a seized toggle has been preventing free movement. They can also crack under the constant tension, particularly if the rig has been pumping in rough seas.

If they have had plastic covers or been taped up there’s a good chance that trapped water might have caused corrosion, so remove and check underneath. Screw threads and locking nuts often need cleaning and regreasing. Slacken them off, giving them a few turns each way and removing clevis pins for inspection, before re-tensioning the stay and locking it off. Replace worn toggles, clevis pins, split pins or rings.

Don’t forget to uncover spreader ends to check wires and terminals

Chain plates

Finally, inspect the chain plates for cracking or distortion and tap the hull or deck around the plate lightly to and tap the hull/deck around the the plate lightly to ensure the laminate hasn’t absorbed water from leaky, dried-up sealant. Put a foot next to the chain plate and as you stand on it, check there is no flex in the deck. Go below decks, if you can, to check the bolts securing the chain plates to the hull, and now and again draw the bolts to check for cracks and corrosion. Do the same checks for forestay and backstay, especially if rust is visible. Ensuring any through-deck fittings are properly sealed will help prevent water ingress.

Choose a calm, dry day to inspect the masthead using the bosun’s chair

At the masthead

Once you’ve done all you can at deck level it’s time to go up the mast , so dig out the bosun’s chair and find a trusted mate to help. Most masts feature integral sheaves that rarely get checked during the season.

Remove the axle pins and sheaves to check for bearing wear and any flat spots that might indicate previous seizure. On reassembly replace any retaining pins or rings and ensure the sheaves spin freely.

Check for damage in the wire at the terminal end

The same goes with external halyard blocks, and you’ll also need to ensure any swivels are rotating freely. Remove any shackles, check for wear or distortion, then clean, lubricate and refasten them, replacing any that are worn or distorted.

Finally, securely seize them with new wire, ensuring there are no sharp wire ends to snag on lines or sails.

Next, check the mast fittings where backstay and forestay connect, ensuring clevis pins are straight and secure and the holes are not elongated.

Inspect the area around tang plates and toggle fittings for cracks, using a magnifying glass and dye.

Checking shroud tension with a gauge

Another common area of rig failure is where the shrouds are secured to the mast. Various connection methods are used, but all should be checked closely for wear, corrosion and/or cracking. Any sign of wear on T-ball type joints (often the indication of an under-tensioned or misaligned rig) means the terminal, socket, or both should be replaced.

Also, look to see if there is any rust or broken wires as the shroud enters the terminal. This will be easier if you slacken the tension off the wire, allowing you to wiggle the wire about.

As you work your way down the mast on the bosun’s chair, check the mainsail track is clean, straight, and well secured, giving it a good spray of track lubricant as you descend. At the spreaders inspect the roots and tips for corrosion or damage (particularly if they have plastic end caps) and ensure the spreaders aren’t bent or distorted.

Retuning the rig

When you’re happy everything is in a serviceable condition it’s a good opportunity to retune your rig, especially at the start of the season. If you do it yourself you should begin at the bottom, working your way up from the lowers, inters (if you have them), cap shrouds and finally the back- and forestays.

Adjusting the shrouds in pairs, first slacken them right off and then make a few turns on the turnbuckle one side, before going to the other and applying an equal number on the opposite shroud. Keep the balance equal on each side by counting the turns on each turnbuckle. This way you won’t risk deforming the mast or misaligning a fitting.

If you’re concerned about getting the tuning spot on, especially if racing is your thing, then it’s probably worth investing in a rig tension gauge such as a Loos gauge so you can tune your boat rigging effectively.

Yacht rigging Inspection checklist

• Mast and boom for cracks and corrosion
• Spreader roots and ends for damage
• Integral masthead and boom sheaves for seizures and flat spots
• Corroded or broken shroud wires
• Cracked, seized or rusty turnbuckles
• Toggles for wear and distortion
• Alignment of shroud fittings
• Furler and swivel bearings for wear and lubrication
• All shackles for wear and distortion, replacing seizing wire

Rig maintenance tips

• Ensure any taping of screws or pins cannot trap water, which will in time cause corrosion
• If you are taping over sharp edges, self-amalgamating tape will last longer than electrical tape
• Wash all moving parts with fresh water to remove salt residue
• Use a silicone-based lubricant regularly to keep moving parts free-running
• Avoid contact between dissimilar metals – use an anti-corrosion paste when using screws or rivets, and use plastic tape to create a barrier layer between fittings
• Rake out and renew sealant around through-hull fittings to prevent water ingress. If you are taking your rig down, take the opportunity to remove deck fittings and re-bed on new sealant
• Get your rig professionally inspected every three years, and let your insurance company know you’ve had the all-clear

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Empire Yacht Rigging is located in Central Coast Council of New South Wales state. To communicate or ask something with the place, the Phone number is 0418 987 842 . You can get more information from their website.

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Empire Yacht Rigging Mobile Yacht Rigger. Empire Yacht Rigging can cater to all your yacht rigging needs. Based out of Empire Bay, we are also mobile and service Brisbane water and surrounding waterways. Call Daniel for any rigging solutions, questions or maintenance requirements you may have.

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The phone number for Empire Yacht Rigging is 0418 987 842.

Where is Empire Yacht Rigging located?

Empire Yacht Rigging is located at Greenfield Rd, Empire Bay NSW 2257, Australia

What is the internet address for Empire Yacht Rigging?

The website (URL) for Empire Yacht Rigging is: http://www.empireyachtrigging.com/

What days are Empire Yacht Rigging open?

Empire Yacht Rigging is open: Monday:8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Tuesday:8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Wednesday:8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Thursday:8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Friday:8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Saturday:Closed Sunday:Closed

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The Rigger’s Apprentice

Posted by Marty McOmber | Projects , Rigging

How a mast overhaul marked the passing of an icon and a new chapter for a storied rigging loft.

The 60-odd-foot aluminum tube, balanced horizontally on a custom two-wheeled cart, bounced and bent alarmingly as the three of us guided it down the narrow road toward the old shop. I had the lead position in this precarious procession, holding my end of the mast in a wrestler’s headlock, convinced that disaster lay just one misstep away.

As we made the wide turn into the gravel parking lot, I glanced back to see Ian Weedman in the middle pivoting the cart and Brion Toss guiding the bottom of the mast around. They were completely unconcerned. In their many years of working together, the two master riggers had performed this balancing trick countless times. Mast after mast had made the same journey from the haulout dock, down the one-way road, past the two old houses and the giant black Herreshoff cleat large enough to serve as a bench to take in the amalgam of wooden, steel, and fiberglass vessels nestled in Port Townsend, Washington’s historic Point Hudson basin.

But this mast, this trip, was different. I didn’t know it then, but this would be one of the last masts that Brion worked on. And it would be the first one that Ian and the crew who carry on his immense legacy would step during a bittersweet moment several months later.

Over those days and weeks, the mast would be made like new again, the world would be transformed by COVID-19, and a small shop that helped redefine the art of sailboat rigging would suffer a devastating blow and then find the will, continuity, and leadership to move forward.

Meeting Brion

I first met Brion Toss in 1997. The author of the masterpiece The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice had already built a global reputation as a leading thinker, craftsman, and occasional provocateur in the art-meets-science world of modern yacht rigging. I was an inexperienced sailor and first-time boat owner who had enough sense to know that I didn’t know the first thing about whether my mast and rigging were sound.

When I called his shop, Brion Toss Yacht Riggers, to schedule a rig inspection, I was surprised that he picked up the phone himself. He asked about the boat, a 1984 Islander 38C, and what I needed, and then with patience, good grace, and several deadpan jokes, proceeded to answer a flurry of novice questions.

On the appointed date and time, Brion arrived at the boat, his rigger’s kit in hand, and set about his inspection. He had curly hair, a medium build, and a disposition that immediately put you at ease. Over the next few hours, he poked, stretched, and prodded shrouds, sheets, blocks, furlers, cleats, and winches from the base of the mast all the way to the head. Every few minutes he would take a note by speaking into his handheld recorder. And each time, he would pause to show me exactly what he was seeing and why it was a concern, how it could be improved, and, most often, why it was probably nothing to worry about.

It was my first experience in the boating world with a true expert sharing his or her knowledge in ways that helped me begin to understand my sailing vessel, rather than simply owning it.

From that moment on, I considered Brion Toss my rigger. With any question or concern that I had about the mast on that Islander 38C, or on the subsequent boats that came and went in my life, I would turn to Brion for answers.

Brion Toss Yacht Riggers office and workshop at historic Point Hudson Marina in Washington state.

A Timeless Shop

Brion Toss Yacht Riggers was founded in 1978 in Port Townsend. Brion was part of a generation of young people who began settling in the faded, historic Victorian seaport town at the time. Like many of them, he was interested in applying the skills and craftsmanship of traditional marine trades to inform, shape, and improve the future of boats and boating.

He eventually set up shop at Point Hudson, a basin on the west end of downtown surrounded by Depression-era white clapboard buildings that were built for the federal government. These historic buildings make Point Hudson one of the most picturesque marinas on the Salish Sea.

A view of the office at Brion Toss Yacht Riggers.

It is always a treat to navigate through the dogleg entrance to Point Hudson and see the basin open up before you. There on the west side sits one of the most iconic of those buildings — a long, two-story wooden structure that served as a Navy carpentry shop during World War II and still sports a signal tower on its south side.

Almost every time I tied up at the marina, I would wander over to that building and walk through the old pane-glass door to Brion’s workshop and office. If Brion were around, he’d always have a few minutes to chat, and inevitably, show me something interesting he was working on.

The space felt timeless, built with thick wooden beams and boards, a small woodstove taking the chill off in colder months. Specialized tools, storage, and workbenches surround the shop. A century-old Willits canoe that belonged to his wife’s father hangs from the ceiling overhead. No matter the time of year, it’s the kind of place you just want to while away a long afternoon.

According to Plan

It is hardly surprising, then, that when it finally came time to tackle an overhaul of the mast and rigging in preparation for bluewater sailing on our latest boat, a 1984 Passport 40, there was no question who we wanted to work with.

It was the late fall of 2019, and we had big plans for the spar. After more than 35 years, the Kenyon mast and boom were looking a bit rough. The original white paint had turned into a chalky mess. We definitely needed all new standing rigging and terminals, and it was past time to replace the original jib furling system. All the hardware needed to come off the mast to check for corrosion. And we would be looking at upgrading some areas, including improving the spinnaker pole lift and adding rope clutches.

Our plan was fairly straightforward. We would hire Brion Toss Yacht Rigging to build the new standing rigging and assemble the furler, while my wife and I would tackle refurbishing the mast, with help and guidance from our friend Ethan Holson, an outstanding shipwright. All of this would be done over the winter and spring in the Pacific Northwest.

I reached out to Brion’s shop in early November 2019 to get a final estimate and confirm details and timelines. I was a bit surprised when Ian responded and let me know that he would be managing their end of the project.

Brion, it turned out, had been diagnosed with cancer several months before. For Ian, the development would change the course of his life.

Riggers Brion Toss (left) and Ian Weedman help guide the mast out of the boat on a clear November afternoon.

The First Rule of Rigging

Ian is tall and slender, with dark hair and a beard to match. Affable and thoughtful, he projects a sense of calmness, focus, and sailing knowledge that would be welcome in any boat at sea.

Raised in Longview, Washington, Ian took to sailing early in life. The way some kids will make anything into a gun, Ian would transform bits of wood and cloth into sailboats. He spent time racing with his mom and dad on the Columbia River, dodging freighters and dealing with big winds.

“I’m 44 years old and I tell people I’ve been sailing for 45,” he joked over a glass of scotch at the workshop last year.

At Evergreen State College in the late 1990s, Ian found just about any excuse to get out on the school’s wooden sailing and research vessels, especially Resolute, a 1942 Luders 44 midshipmen Naval training yawl. In the school’s library, Ian came across The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice . He didn’t know who Brion was and didn’t know much about rigging. But the book opened a new world to Ian, one he didn’t want to leave.

In 2000, Ian was aboard Evergreen’s other wooden sailing boat, the 38-foot Seawulff , when it pulled into Point Hudson on one of its many visits to Port Townsend. A classmate stuck his head down below and called out to him. “Hey Ian, that guy whose book you’re always reading is walking down the dock.”

Ian was 25 at the time and still enrolled at Evergreen. But that dockside conversation with Brion led to an apprenticeship, a move to Port Townsend, and a clear calling in life. He would be a rigger.

For Ian, it was the “art, the physics, the math, the history, and the tradition” that drew him deeper into his trade. Under Brion, he learned that the first rule of rigging is fair leads. After that, there were no rules. The improvising, the problem-solving, the careful engineering reminded him of jazz music. And he loved it all.

Learning under Brion was a joy, but it was something to take seriously. He learned the correct and safe way to do the jobs of a rigger, whether climbing masts or splicing an eye in double-braid rope. He would learn the shear strength of bolts and the history of the craft in which he was quickly growing into a journeyman.

The two built a strong working relationship over the ensuing years. And it was clear that in Ian, Brion saw someone who could become a partner in the business, someone who might carry on the work he had started in the late 1970s.

Brion was a great teacher, Ian recalled, but the most important lesson Brion taught him was to “ask the right questions.”

Ian, though, had to leave before he could return. An offer to bring his rigging expertise to a company building high-end treehouses led him to 10 years of traveling the world, including stints in Japan, Hawaii, and Costa Rica. Ian even took part for one season of the TV show Treehouse Masters .

While building treehouses, Ian further refined and developed his skills, working with engineers, architects, and climbing technicians on projects that rounded out his understanding of what rigging could do.

Throughout that period, he stayed in touch with Brion and occasionally found time to work on jobs with him. Eventually, growing tired of the extensive travel required with extreme treehouse construction, Ian decided to return to boat rigging full time and set up his own shop servicing boats in California and Oregon.

In 2014, he got a call from Brion’s wife and business partner, Christian Gruye. She and Brion were looking forward to retiring and wanted a partner who could eventually take over the business. Brion was clear that the person had to be someone he had trained. And the person they both wanted was Ian.

For Ian, it wasn’t the right time. He was focused on building his own business and a more settled lifestyle. But the conversation would surface again in fits and starts over the following few years. When Ian eventually felt the time was right, he wrote an email telling Brion that he wanted to talk details and get the ball rolling.

To his surprise, he didn’t get a reply. One day in June 2019, he opened his inbox to read a response that shook him to his core. “Very sorry,” Ian recalled Brion writing. “I’m not well. Please reach out to Christian.”

After talking to Christian, Ian understood that neither Brion nor the business was doing well and they needed help right away. Ian finished up his open rigging projects, packed up his home, and moved back to Port Townsend.

Hanging In the Balance

A few months later, on an uncharacteristically beautiful day in late November, I maneuvered my boat into the haulout slip at Point Hudson, where a portable crane stood ready to pluck the mast. Brion and Ian were standing up on the dock, Brion in his trademark rigger’s vest and Ian in a blue wool overshirt.

Marty’s mast in the cavernous mast room at Brion Toss Yacht Riggers. The shrouds and stays are coiled below it.

Despite his ongoing cancer treatments, Brion looked much like his old self. Ian easily climbed the mast to secure the lifting strap. The two worked with practiced ease removing the rigging pins and securing the shrouds and stays.

The engine on the crane revved and the lifting strap began to take up the load. But the mast was reluctant to move. It needed a little convincing, but the mast seal finally released its grip with a bang and the spar began to rise. Brion and Ian, positioned on opposite sides of the mast, gently guided it skyward, inch by inch, into the air, where it hung balanced in exquisite uncertainty before being slowly lowered to the ground.

I relished the next few days in Brion’s workshop. The jumble of rigging wires was removed one by one. Critical areas around the spreader bases and tangs were inspected and found sound. Ian, Brion, and I measured the shrouds and stays—and then measured them again. I managed to get almost every piece of hardware off the mast, most screws giving up their decades-old grip with only a modicum of fight. All except for one, that is, the last of eight flatheads securing the rigid boom vang’s mast fitting.

Brion pulled an old wooden dining room chair up to the fitting and sat down. I watched as he went through his process of breaking that corrosive bond between stainless and aluminum. It was late after- noon, the winter sky outside a deep shade of near-night blue. The chair was positioned under one of the bright spotlights in the otherwise dark and cavernous mast room.

Eventually, Brion resorted to drilling off the head of the fastener. The fitting was free, but the hole for that screw was now useless, positioned as it was over the now permanently fixed remnants of the screw shaft. Barely giving it a moment’s thought, Brion drilled a new hole in the fitting, countersunk it, and then tapped a corresponding hole in the mast. Improvised like a jazz solo, the solution was as strong as new.

A New Chapter

As the winter progressed, Ian and Brion built the new stays and shrouds and then waited patiently for my wife and I to make progress on painting the mast. Grinding any spots of corrosion and prepping the mast for paint could be done outside as weather allowed. But to prime and paint, we needed a covered location out of the elements.

The newly painted mast hanging in the shipping container.

There were no dedicated mast painting rooms anywhere in Port Townsend, so like Ian and Brion, we improvised. After one failed approach, we landed on renting a 40-foot shipping container and built an extension out of wood, shrink wrap, and tarps to cover the portion of mast that stuck out the end. This worked perfectly for us.

Then COVID hit and Port Townsend, like communities everywhere, seemed to fall into slow motion. Through the spring, Deborah and I kept to ourselves, spending weekends carefully guide-coating, hand- sanding, priming, and eventually painting the mast and boom.

Spring arrived and the days grew longer and warmer. By May, our mast and boom emerged from the container glossy, white, smooth—transformed. New and refurbished hardware was reinstalled, with proper barriers to prevent corrosion.

With concerns about COVID raging, we didn’t get a chance to see Brion much after those early days of working on the project. The last time we spoke, he was in his office in good spirits, getting ready to take a lesson on electric bass guitar from a good friend.

On June 6, 2020, Brion passed away from cancer.

Through the deep grief that spread through the community of people who knew Brion, the work that he started somehow went on. Ian was joined at the shop by two other long-time riggers and former apprentices, Jen Bates and Matt Fahey. Together, they had decades of experience working alongside Brion.

Rigger Brion Toss (seated) drills and taps a new hole in the mast while Marty smiles at one of his jokes. In the background, Ian Weedman inspects the spreader tang.

Just 10 days after Brion passed, I once again found myself maneuvering our boat into the haulout slip. This time, Jen, Matt, and Ian were the ones to put the mast on its two-wheeled cart and walk it slowly, carefully out of the gravel parking lot, down that narrow, one-way road, past the two houses and that giant Herreshoff cleat.

The three worked together with practiced ease as they prepped the mast for stepping. They methodically checked to make sure there would be no surprises— the shrouds and stays would not tangle and the lifting strap was securely attached. Just the way Brion had taught them.

Rigger Matthew Fahey hands the mast off to riggers Jen Bates (foreground) and Ian Weedman. It is the first mast the shop had stepped after the passing of founder Brion Toss.

Then the crane engine revved and the mast began to lift skyward again. It hovered overhead, then glided slowly over to the boat. Christian was there taking pictures, watching proudly as the shop’s crew worked. Ian, Jen, and Matt carefully guided the mast down and into the boat, setting it firmly on its step. The shrouds and stays were the exact right length.

It was something they had done countless times. But this mast, this time, was different.

When all the initial work was done and the mast and standing rigging were securely in place, everyone joined together for a group photo. It was a bittersweet moment. They smiled and seemed satisfied with a job well done.

An era and an icon had passed. On that day, a new chapter had begun.

It has been more than two years since the mast was stepped on our Passport 40. The rig and mast have performed flawlessly, including on a nearly six-week circumnavigation of Vancouver Island in the summer of 2022.

Under Ian and Christian’s leadership, and with the continued help of Jen and Matt, Brion Toss Yacht Riggers is as busy as it has ever been at its office and workshop in Point Hudson. And a new crop of apprentices—including Jen’s son, Chance Bates —who are eager to learn the art and science of rigging have already signed onboard, ready to carry forward a legacy that began decades ago.

Brion would be proud.

About The Author

Marty McOmber

Marty McOmber has been sailing and refitting his 1984 Passport 40, Rounder, in the Pacific Northwest since 2012. He and his wife, Deborah Bach, have lived aboard during summers and cruised from the south end of Puget Sound to the waters of Southeast Alaska, with plans for destinations farther afield in the year to come.

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‘Total Disgrace’: Anger, Frustration as Mass Heating Failures Across Russia Leave Thousands in the Cold

P ODOLSK, Moscow region – Residents throughout Russia affected by unprecedented winter heating outages in recent days have expressed their frustration and urged local authorities to restore heating in their homes.

In Podolsk, a town some 30 kilometers south of the capital Moscow, at least 149,000 residents — nearly half of its population — were left without heating when a heating main burst at a nearby private ammunition plant.

“It’s a total disgrace. There is no heating and no hot water. We have to sleep in sleeping bags,” Yuri, a local resident, told The Moscow Times.

“I have no words to describe how bad the situation is," said Yuri, who declined to provide his surname. "We have had no heating for almost six days."

Heating issues have affected residents in the Moscow region, where temperatures have plunged to as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius in the past week, as well as people in the Far East Primorye region , the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg , Penza , the southern Voronezh and Volgograd regions and more.

In the Tver region, a group of residents filmed an appeal to President Vladimir Putin, saying that they “are freezing from the cold” in the village of Novozavidovsky.

“We're literally being killed by the cold,” a woman in the video said, adding that they have been sending requests to local authorities since September after their houses were connected to a boiler room whose power was reportedly insufficient.

“This is some kind of torture and extermination of the population 100 kilometers from Moscow,” she added.

Residents of the Moscow region town of Elektrostal lit a fire in the street to draw the authorities’ attention to the heating problem.

“It’s impossible to stay in our houses. We're freezing!” a group of women in the video said.

Suffering from subzero temperatures, residents are placing the blame on local authorities and utility services for failing to take necessary precautions and not taking action to resolve the situation.

“We are sending complaints everywhere but no one listens to us. We have portable heaters working in every room, but the temperature inside is still 10 degrees Celsius,” Yelena from Podolsk said.

“There is a clinic and a hospital, as well as kindergartens, where there is no heating. And we have no answers, no assistance, no explanation,” Yelena added.

Podolsk authorities opened temporary heating centers and declared a state of emergency.

Local authorities linked the heating problems to the fact that the town is heated by a boiler plant owned by the Klimovsk Specialized Ammunition Plant, a private ammunition factory and one of the largest weapon cartridge production enterprises in the country.

“The facility is under tight security conditions, which limits our ability to oversee winter preparations,” the Moscow region’s Vice Governor Yevgeny Khromushin said last week. “We were unaware of the problem for nearly a day.”

An unidentified Moscow region official and two senior executives at the plant were arrested on suspicion of providing unsafe services, Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in a statement Tuesday.

Investigators said that Podolsk’s deputy mayor was accused of misusing authority by issuing a readiness certificate for the boiler house at the plant.

In the neighboring Tver region, the authorities opened a criminal case over the laundering of over 84 million rubles ($938,993) in heating bills paid by residents, the Astra Telegram channel reported this week, citing unidentified sources. According to investigators, the heads of the local water intake and boiler house misappropriated the heating payments for personal use.

Reacting to the heating failures, Putin on Tuesday asked Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov to provide heat and electricity to the affected residents.

The outages appear to be the latest effect of several decades of crumbling infrastructure in Russia which have been linked to endemic corruption and mismanagement.

The overall decay of Russia's municipal infrastructure surpassed 70% in 2022, the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia reported .

According to Sergei Pakhomov, head of the State Duma’s Construction, Housing and Utilities Committee, water pipes that were 90 years old or even older were still in use as recently as two years ago in some cases.

Housing, utilities and communal services are a common source of problems for Russians during the winter.

In St. Petersburg, residents regularly complain about extensive ice coverage on city streets and sidewalks, with many people ending up in the hospital over the years due to slipping and falling accidents.

In the Siberian republic of Khakassia, two villages were left without electricity last month due to apparent issues with outdated communication systems.

In the winter of 2020, five people in the Perm region were killed after a pipe burst.

When asked about the latest heating outages, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged the problems and linked them to poor municipal infrastructure, saying that people “had to endure a lot of inconvenience in the cold and without electricity.”

"Despite all the titanic efforts to update all housing and communal services systems, there's still a certain part that remains considerably deteriorated. These programs will continue, but it is impossible to update all pipes and all housing and communal services systems in 10-15 years,” Peskov said.

As for now, residents affected by heating issues appear to lack optimism that the problems will be solved efficiently.

"It's been a week since we've had heating, and the temperature in my apartment is around 11 degrees Celsius,” Podolsk resident Lidiya told The Moscow Times.

“Unfortunately, no one knows when it will be repaired,” she added.

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