Tabernacle

What is a tabernacle doing on a boat? In lay terms a tabernacle is the dwelling place of the sacred.
On a ship a tabernacle is a structure on deck that holds the mast on a pivot that allows the mast to be lowered.
When you want to install the mizzen mast on an EC22 you pick the mast up and insert it through the mast partner and into the mast cup. The main mast is too heavy to install by hand so we are building a tabernacle. I have done some searching online to discover why the word tabernacle has come to be used to indicate this pivoting mast support, but I have not found anything convincing.

Here are the parts laid out.

The tabernacle goes just forward of the forward bulkhead. The mast must pivot through the deck so the forward compartment is always open. The floor slopes forward and there is a little drain near the bow. The forward compartment is a good place to store an anchor and line. I put a layer of 2 oz glass down to resist abrasion and water. The deck is reinforced on either side of the notch where the tabernacle fits.

Some temporary braces are holding the tabernacle while the epoxy sets up.