I have tried that company and other shipping/trucking companies.

So far, using them will add as much as the mast cost, doubling the cost and I haven't even begun dealing with rigging replacement or repair after the fiasco.

One fellow cat sailor has offered to transport it from Minot or Bismarck, ND to Billings Montana, half the distance from Bismarck to Utah.

Cat sailors always amaze me how ready they are to help, whenever the can.

A very thoughtful fellow sailor and a great group of folks.

I'm also exploring places to stash the mast to provide some flexibility.

Getting to Bismark at the exact time, that the Stiletto 30 transport crew gets there, is tough.

When I couldn't find a boat shop, storage facility, etc., willing to help (even for a fee) I called a church, in Bismarck to see if I could have the transport crew leave it there for a few hours or days, depending on how this all goes.

The Bishop of that Mormon church was kind enough to make arrangements with a local church member. (He thought it would be safer than just being left behind the church building.

The people he called readily agreed to allow the mast to be dropped off (at the convenience of the transport folk) and store it at their place until I can get there or make other arrangements.

Ya know, there are lots of great folks all over the place.

It's fun to run across them, where ever they are.

Its even fun to be one of them every now and again.

It make the world just a nicer place to be....or at least in our little corner of it.

"Pay it forward" is an interesting concept and goes further (sometimes) than "pay it back" to make it even...though paying it back is good also.

Working in and around law enforcement, jails and prisons so long might make one a bit cynical.

Though even there some folks still display various degree of kindness, etc. under some pretty surprising circumstances and conditions.

I can hardly wait to see how this all works out.

Life is good, even with a broken mast.

Oh, and as for the tranny cooler....

I hava stick shift so an over heated engin/tranny probably isn't a big problem, if the load isn't outrageous. However, the clutch in even the stick shift is so small it probably could be a problem, when starting off from a standing start., or trying to back up especially up hill.