So, I completed my winter list--replaced the standing rigging, all the shock cord, etc. It seemed to survive our Michigan winter well enough wrapped in plastic. At times, it buried in snow. I couldn't see the trailer for weeks.
Now that summer is on, we're finally warm and I have free time--nobody wants to go. So, I went alone, and tried a new lake.
Let's see, I managed to forget the mast chip, until I was on the water. After I finished rigging and was ready to back up a power boat pulled in on the side I was lined up for, so I waited longer. Got the sail up, pushed it out on the water and the wind died--then I realized tree cover put me in a bit of a lee spot.
Got it going, rudders humming, and started to freak out!! This is way faster than the Wave's we used on vacation over the winter, and I haven't even got it going nearly as fast as we did last summer. It was good that it was a light wind day.
About my second loop of the lake I started hearing creaking. I was leaning on the shroud, and the noise seemed between the mast and the opposite front pylon. All that came to mind were pictures of hulls snapping in half. I calmed down, and headed back in. Got a couple gusts that pushed me a bit, and everything seemed normal again--no creaking. Ran another loop, and in the same part of the lake this time facing the other way, the creaking returned, along with a big gust, lots of jib flogging, and worry about a heavy gybe. I heard a bit of creaking like that when I compressed the frame to restring the trampoline, and it was really making me nervous so I headed in. When I got in I realized I forgot to remove the mast step too.
So, was my creaking the new anchor bars settling in, the mast base creaking without a chip and being pinned, a pylon or something else?