Project Log: Saturday, September 6, 2014
Reassembling spars and rigging is one of those jobs that
can seem to stretch on interminably, all the more so
when one has weeks away from the project to exacerbate
what was already a lengthy process. I began mast
reassembly back in April 2014, though I'd hardly worked
often or consistently since then.
Though there was no immediate need for the masts, it was
time to finish up the assembly and rigging work and
knock this off the list and clear my conscience as well
as my tool cart. Though a few unknowns remained
with placement of halyard winches and cleats (which I'd
do later), I hoped to otherwise finish the reassembly on
both masts and be done with them for the most part.
I'd completed the hardware and wiring work on the
mainmast, but had just started the mizzen when I left
off last time.
First, though, I had one small chore on the mainmast.
During my trial sail fitting some time earlier, I'd
noted how the sail slide installation slot--now the only
one accessible for the sail thanks to the new permanent
gooseneck--was too small for the long cars required at
the track end of the full battens.
|
Photo from April 25,
2014
 |
Using the longer lower opening as a guide, I marked an
extension on the upper slot, then cut off the lower
section with a Dremel tool. Some people seem
enamored of Dremel tools; I am not one of them, but in
this instance it did the trick where nothing else could.
This doubled the length of the original slot and would
provide ample room for the sail slides. Later I
installed the slide stop in that threaded hole nearby. |
 |
Planning ahead for lazy jacks, I installed a pair of
small cheek blocks on the spar, about 48" above the
spreaders. I'd worry about the rest of the system
another time. |
 |
Next door on the mizzen mast, I reinstalled the sheaves
at the top of the mast. I liked the installation
system for the sheaves on both spars, which featured a
simple stud held in place with external cover plates,
making for easy removal or installation. |
 |
There wasn't much hardware on the mizzen: for now,
about all I could install was the tang for the triatic
stay (which ran from the top of the mainmast, through a
sheave at the top of the mizzen, and down to
pilothouse-height for ease of connection and adjustment)
and the nearby tang for the mainsheet connection.
Because these pieces had originally been riveted in
place, in order to reuse the same locations and holes I
had to increase the size of the fasteners to 5/16",
larger than I would have liked but OK enough in the end.
For this and other hardware, I followed my usual
protocol of tapped holes in the spar, with Tef-Gel on
the fasteners. I'd figure out the mizzen halyard
winch and cleat (and whatever else might be needed)
later. |
 |
Next, I installed the radome mount, which I'd recycled
from the original setup, though I'd painted it some time
earlier. I installed this with 1/4" machine screws
at each of the four mounting locations. I
temporarily installed the mount itself, but removed it
for more convenient storage till later. It just
bolted in place with four bolts through the mast bases.
I had an adapter plate to allow me to fit the Simrad
radome to this mount (originally for
Raymarine...actually Raytheon, which dated the mount),
but I wasn't ready to install that yet. (Well,
actually I was more than ready to install it and be
done, but it didn't make sense at this particular time,
with a long winter's storage ahead.) |
 |
Now I turned to the mizzen rigging, starting with the
small tubular spreaders and their fixed stays, which
acted like jumper stays in a way, as they simply
stiffened the mast along its own column and didn't have
attachment points on the boat. I reinstalled the
spreaders and their rigging now just to be done with it,
even knowing that the projecting spreaders and stays
would probably irritate me when it came time to store
the mast for the winter. So be it...fewer jobs to
be done later. This had all dragged on long
enough, and I was interested to note from my rigging
labels that it had been four years nearly to the date
that I first removed the rigging from these spars. At
least a year too long.
I wrapped up mizzen work by installing the remaining
shrouds: a pair leading off the tang at the mast
head. I secured the stays along the mast with
plastic wire ties for safekeeping. |
 |
Finally, I installed the stays on the mainmast, glad to
finally remove these from storage in my shop and have
the spars more or less ready to step whenever I was.
Soon, I'd wrap up the spars and move them to my storage
area. |
 |
| |
Total Time Today: 3.75 hours
|
<
Previous |
Next > |
|
|
