| Circe
| Monday, May 3, 2010 One of the items remaining on the short work list was to install the new Tides Marine Strong Track system for the mainsail. I'd installed several of these in the past, always experiencing at least minor--and in one case major--difficulty getting the track slid all the way to the top of the mast. With this in mind, I moved the mast to a spot where I could secure it and, if necessary, a block and tackle to pull the track up, a technique I'd been forced to resort to on the last one I installed. I blame the old bronze external tracks for this challenge. The system now included a short test piece of track, a new inclusion since the last one I'd installed. Since the track is designed to be (and often is) installed with the mast stepped, this short track, incorporating a slide and ring for securing a halyard and downhaul, is intended to ensure that the new track will slide unimpeded up the existing track--a good idea, and a feature I wish I'd had available in the past. Since this mast was on the ground, I didn't need halyards and downhauls to test the track. Instead, I just slid it up by hand. While there was slight resistance from the "dryness" of the old bronze track, the test piece ran up and back smoothly with no hard spots or other issues that I could tell. That was good, and I figured the test piece also functioned to sort of clean off the old track, which might make the final installation easier. In the end, final installation was almost embarrassingly easy: it literally took about 5 minutes from start to finish, including pulling the track out of the box and installing the single screw that holds the track in place. The track slid up with little effort and no binding, and was even the correct length this time (former installations had required trimming). All in all, it was a pleasant surprise. |
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Last July, at the beginning of the project, I'd removed everything from the boat and stored most items away in bins and boxes for possible later use. One of these items was the cockpit bulkhead-mounted compass, about which I'd entirely forgotten and given no thought in the meantime. But after a reminder, I dug out the compass and prepared to reinstall it. In order to keep the compass as far away as possible from possible electrical panel interference and the likelihood of further electronics mounting and wiring to starboard, I mounted it on the port bulkhead; previously, it'd been mounted to starboard. After some basic layout, I cut the large hole required with a jigsaw. I installed the compass with its supplied gasket and screws, then wired up the compass light to the electrical panel, running the exposed wire within protective loom for better appearance. |
 
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