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Mast and Rigging
I was disappointed in the
rigging. The "new" (2000) mast and boom are in good
shape, with no particular issues, so that's a plus.
But the standing rigging is in only fair to poor condition,
in my opinion, as is the running rigging. In addition,
I was unimpressed with how the mast was stored on this
boatyard rack; the storage was sloppy, with wires hanging
all over, last summer's weedy vines wrapped all around the
stags (the brown stuff in the photos), and just a general
lack of attention and care. I say this only because
it's clear to me that poor care and maintenance is
responsible for the condition of the rigging today, not its
relatively young age.
The mast was on an upper
rack on the mast rack, and I couldn't get up close and
personal. But I could reach the rigging, and could
perform an adequate inspection. At least two bees
nests are inside the mast (white-faced hornets), so some
Raid is in order.
In any event, I thought the
standing rigging looked cheaply made. The swages
looked to be of lower quality, with uneven tops and other
indications of less-than-perfect mechanical swage
construction. There was surface corrosion visible in
the wires at the tops of the lower swages, as well as in
other areas. Wire in good condition should not show
this. The owners used plastic turnbuckle covers, which
tend to hold moisture within and exacerbate corrosion from
normal amounts of water that gets on all rigging.
The turnbuckles were all
stiff to turn, but are not beyond saving with a small amount
of work. Someone's used serrated pliers to hold the
swage while tightening the turnbuckles, scarring and
scratching the swage--yet another reason to consider the
rigging to be fairly poor overall.
The running rigging on the
mast was stained green from algae, again pointing to a
general lack of care since it was installed, but otherwise
it looked serviceable.
Otherwise, the mast and
rigging just need a good once-over to inspect all areas,
replace old tape on certain areas, and that sort of thing.
At least the extrusions are in good condition.
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