Before We Had a St. Thomas Shop…There Was This Hinckley B40
Before we had a full-time shop in St. Thomas, we just kept finding reasons to go back.
This draft started life in 2019 as a quick “TRC is headed back to the Virgin Islands” update. The job was a Hinckley Bermuda 40 yawl that needed far more than a tune-up…and looking back now, it feels like a pretty good snapshot of how our Virgin Islands work kept growing.
A Classic Boat…With a Very Big Rigging List
The Hinckley Bermuda 40 is one of those sailboats almost everybody in the business recognizes. Only 203 were built over more than three decades, and a lot of them are still sailing today.
This particular boat was a yawl, which meant we were dealing with two spars instead of one. The project called for:
- New custom mainmast and mizzen
- New booms
- New standing rigging
- New running rigging
- Custom chainplates
- New furler installation
- A TRC on-the-mast whisker pole system
- All of the little custom pieces that magically appear once the old rig comes apart
In other words…a proper refit.
Measure in St. Thomas…Build Back Home
The first trip was all about getting the information right. Mast lengths, spreader geometry, attachment heights, deck partners, step locations, chainplate positions, boom geometry, wire lengths…the stuff that becomes very expensive if somebody says, “eh, that’s probably close enough.”
Once the measurements were in hand, the spar work could happen back at the shop. Then the whole package had to make its way south so we could put the boat back together.
Putting a new mast in a boat is one of those jobs where the dramatic part lasts about twenty minutes…and the preparation takes days. If you want the nuts-and-bolts version of what goes into that, see How to Step a Mast.
Two Masts In…Now Finish Everything Else
Once the spars were standing, we still had standing rigging to finish, running rigging to lead, furling gear to build out, booms to hang, tuning to complete and all of those little alignment problems that do not reveal themselves until the boat is physically back together.
That final rig tune matters just as much as the shiny new hardware. Two new masts, new stays and new deck connections all have to work together as one system.
…and Eventually, Back Under Sail
The best picture in any mast project is not the crane shot. It is the boat sailing again.
Funny How Things Work Out
At the time, St. Thomas was still a place we traveled to for projects. A few years later, The Rigging Company had a permanent operation in the Virgin Islands.
You can read that next chapter here: Our New USVI Shop.
Looking back, jobs like this Hinckley are a pretty good reminder of how we got there…one mast, one boat, and apparently one airline ticket at a time.
Thanks for the read and see you on the water.
~T.R.C.
