110 Cookson Lane | Whitefield, ME 04353 | 207-232-7600 | tim@lackeysailing.com
Snow Lily | Friday, May 3, 2013
The mast required various installations to prepare for use once more. As dedicated readers may recall, this mast was a replacement-also off a Tartan 34--for Snow Lily's original mast, which I'd discovered to be horrifically corroded beneath the winches during an earlier disassembly.
I started the work with the items that I felt were most important overall, and I'd work my way into the remainder as time went on. To begin, I removed the original sliding gooseneck track, and installed a new fixed gooseneck supplied by the supplier of the new boom. Using a mainsail luff measurement provided by the sailmaker, I located the new gooseneck so its tack pin was a bit below the measurement to ensure that the sail could be hoisted tightly. I secured the fitting with 10 cheesehead machine screws (appropriate enough since the boat was headed to Wisconsin), with each screw's threads coated in Tef-Gel for corrosion resistance.
There was a similar fitting required for the boom vang, but at the moment I didn't know where exactly the mast partners would end up; I needed to take some measurements first. Also, there was some old hardware in the way, which resisted my first attempts at removal, so I soaked the fasteners with penetrating solvent and left things alone till later.
For the original spar, we'd long ago obtained new spreader bases and spreaders since the original bases on the original spar were cracked and in poor condition. While the spreaders and bases that came with the replacement mast were intact, I'd always planned to use the new bases and spreaders, and had removed the originals shortly after the new spar was shipped here.
It was straightforward to install the new bases with machine screws into newly tapped holes. Again, I coated all the fasteners with the Tef-Gel before installation.
For a set of lazy jacks, I installed a pair of small cheek blocks on the mast a few feet above the spreaders.
I'd salvaged a Windex mounting arm from the original spar, and now installed it on the masthead, along with a new Windex (temporarily installed for display).
I ordered a new whip antenna for the VHF radio, and installed it at the masthead. The bracket fit nicely into holes that were already there from another bracket.
Meanwhile, I ordered some supplies needed to install the all-round white light (anchor light) at the masthead. The light was designed to fit over a 1" PVC pipe, and I hoped to adapt it to a stainless steel base for secure mounting, so I found the adapters I needed and would complete that installation later, once the parts arrived.
Total Time on This Job Today: 3 hours
