M Is for "Mástil" {Mast} | A To Z Challenge

In my ongoing efforts to learn Spanish, I'm highlighting a Spanish word each day during April as part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I'm also sharing the random thoughts that pop into my head when I try to pronounce them.

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Today's Spanish word is >>mástil<< (mast). And here are some random thoughts:

1 - The mast on our boat is 40.66 feet / 12.4 meters tall, as measured from the deck to the top. One of my fears is being demasted and watching our mast and rigging crash into the water.

2 - When it comes to going under bridges, the number you really want to know is 46.35 feet / 14.1 meters, which is the height of the mast from the top down to the waterline. But this doesn't account for the various things we have attached at the top of our mast (wind indicator, antennas etc.). So we usually think of around 48 feet / 14.63 meters as our threshold. If a bridge is shorter than that, we don't go through.

3 - Our mast is deck-stepped, which means that it's attached to the deck. It's supported by a compression post which is attached to the keel. Some people would argue that keel-stepped masts (masts that go through the deck down to the keel) are better.

4 - This is a picture of our compression post. It's wrapped with cord to make it look pretty. The downside is that it gets all grimy and gross when people put their hands on it to keep their balance.

Do you know anyone who has ever been demasted? What's your favorite word that starts with "M"?

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