Mast Work on E38

[Touchrain]

I am unstepping my mast and replacing all standing rigging over the next month. I plan to inspect everything carefully and replace anything with problems before an upcoming offshore passage down the West Coast from the Puget Sound. I'd like advice on what I should particularly look for on our 1980 E38. Has anyone out there encountered any particular problems in doing this?

 

[rwthomas1]

I did this two year ago on my E38. Its a pretty straightforward project once the mast is on the ground. I removed mine and delivered it to a respected local rigger. He deemed it "past service limit" simply because it was original and fabricated all new in his shop. I installed the new rigging myself and saved a ton of cash. Pretty easy. This is also a good time to replace any navigation lighting, etc. on the top of the mast. I would not trust your own eyes to inspect rigging unless you have some experience doing so. Given the cost of new and how important that stick it supports is it makes no sense to cheap out. RT

 

[u079721]

+1 on Rob's suggestion to also replace the mast lighting. But I would also replace the wiring to both lights as well while you have the stick down.

You can certainly just remove the standing rigging and take it to a shop, but you should also have someone look at the tangs on the mast for cracks, and at the mast base to be sure it is still sound.

 

[ted_reshetiloff]

Take a close look at the masthead sheaves too. If the boat ever had wire halyards the sheaves likely hvae suffered. There is a guy in Washington State named Ed Louchard. He runs a company called www.Zephyrwerks.com and can make new delrin sheaevs with bronze oilite bearings at a really affordable price. I would consider new sheaves as they make hoists a lot easier. +1 on the mast electrics and wire. Also look to the option of an LED anchor light or better yet masthead tri with anchorlight and photocell. These save a lot of amps but the lights are not cheap. If you had to compromise I would go for just the led anchor light as thats the one that gets used to most. Lastly take a close look at the spreader tips. They likley will be looking for some cleaning and corrosion treatment. Many people use rubber spreader boots and hold them on with lots of rigging tape. This method traps a lot of moisture and often ruins the tips. Better solution is to use leather and sew them on. The Edson ones are okay but you can do a much better job making them yourself. Use paper to make a pattern then once you have it right transfer to leather.

 

[Emerald]

Hi Ted,

do you know of a good source of leather around here (Annapolis) for the spreader boots?

Thanks

 

[Loren Beach]

+1 on Rob's suggestion to also replace the mast lighting. But I would also replace the wiring to both lights as well while you have the stick down.

You can certainly just remove the standing rigging and take it to a shop, but you should also have someone look at the tangs on the mast for cracks, and at the mast base to be sure it is still sound.

+2 on the advice to replace lights and wiring while the mast is down. In '02 when we replaced all rigging and fixtures, we found that even the stuff that worked came off in pieces. It turned out that if we had burned out a bulb the old lenses/fixtures would not have been removable without breaking most of them.

And do not forget the old coax; that stuff is way beyond its useful life at this point in time.

LB

 

[sveinutne]

Take a close look at the masthead sheaves too. If the boat ever had wire halyards the sheaves likely hvae suffered. There is a guy in Washington State named Ed Louchard. He runs a company called www.Zephyrwerks.com and can make new delrin sheaevs with bronze oilite bearings at a really affordable price. I would consider new sheaves as they make hoists a lot easier. +1 on the mast electrics and wire. Also look to the option of an LED anchor light or better yet masthead tri with anchorlight and photocell. These save a lot of amps but the lights are not cheap. If you had to compromise I would go for just the led anchor light as thats the one that gets used to most. Lastly take a close look at the spreader tips. They likley will be looking for some cleaning and corrosion treatment. Many people use rubber spreader boots and hold them on with lots of rigging tape. This method traps a lot of moisture and often ruins the tips. Better solution is to use leather and sew them on. The Edson ones are okay but you can do a much better job making them yourself. Use paper to make a pattern then once you have it right transfer to leather.

Thanks Ted,
Lots of good advice from you here. Do you have a picture or drawing of a good leather boots for the spreaders? I am also considering replacing what is holding the spreaders, but I am not sure how to replace them, and where I can get new replacement parts.
If you look at the picture, you can see it should be replaced, but I am not sure if that can be done from the outside only.

 

[ted_reshetiloff]

I will do some digging and see what I can find on the spreader boots. A few years back I was running a rigging company in Annapolis with a gentleman named Brian Duff. He has since moved to the BVI and is a broker for BVI yacht sales but he was an extremely talented rigger and one of only a few i have ever met who was genuinely skilled in the traditional rigging arts of serving parceling and splicing wire etc. He is offshore right now doing the ARC to Bermuda but is coming up to help me deliver my new boat from RI to Annapolis. When I talk with him I will find the source for the leather. Another place to check would be with West Coast rigger Brion Toss. Im sure he could help with a source and advice on his Spar Talk board.

As for the spreader roots I dont know if that is something http://www.rigrite.com/ would have or not but worth a call for sure. Other solution would be to remove them and give to a good metal fab guy for reproduction. I have a guy in Annapolis who is a very good friend and is amazing with that sort of stuff but you cna probably find someone locally.

Good luck and fair winds.

 

[sveinutne]

Thank you Ted, I will see what I can get local first.

 

[Touchrain]

Thanks all for the great suggestions. Mast is out and boat is on the hard. Now I just have to decide what else to do: Re-paint the mast? Install conduit in it? Replace the VHF antenna? Go with new, ball bearing sheaves? But that is probably another thread.

 

[sveinutne]

Touchrain,
Pleas keep us informed about what you do, and what you will recommend for others to do too. I am a month behind you on the mast, but in June I will start to look at the mast and all that need to be done with it. I have no idea what sort of work the mast and boom will need.

 

[Touchrain]

I will keep everyone apprised. Also, if anyone has converted to rope halyards from wire-rope? Advantages? Disadvantages? What line did you choose? How do you like it? Still considering, although I have a brand new wire-rope main halyard.

Thanks

 

[Loren Beach]

I will keep everyone apprised. Also, if anyone has converted to rope halyards from wire-rope? Advantages? Disadvantages? What line did you choose? How do you like it? Still considering, although I have a brand new wire-rope main halyard.

Thanks

We converted all four of the old halyards about a decade ago. I found some meathooks on one and decided to change to low-stretch line. T-900 was on sale at the time, so we went with that.

Loren

 

[ted_reshetiloff]

FWIW I only like to use wire on a boat to conduct electricity but I make an exception for shrouds.

 

[Matey]

While I can't help with anything specific to the 38 .. here's how the same went on my 32 last month.
I used a reputable rigger local to my marina that would allow my help in the process. The standing rigging and halyards were replaced a few years ago (by P.O.) but it was clear the mast would benefit from stripping & inspecting. I pulled off the tangs, spreaders, winches, stays/shrouds and halyards. The antenna was shot and the wiring & lights looked to be original, so it all came off. I cleaned up all the stainless pieces, inspected the bolts and clevis pins, scrubbed the mast with 3M pads and rebuilt the winches. I couldn't afford to paint the mast, but wish I could have. While cleaning up the spreaders I could see that the ends were pretty corroded. After having the rigger inspect them, we cut off about 5/16" of each to get clean ends. I decided to rewire the electrical and coax. We put in a conduit and riveted it to the mast. I had the masthead wired for a Tri-color, but put in a standard anchor light for now (due to the cost). We removed the existing steaming light, put a plate over the hole and drilled an opening for a steaming/deck light combo lower near the bottom spreaders. I also decided to have the halyards put internal. I reused the wire/spliced to rope halyards because they are almost new. I would .. or will go to all line next time. It required quite a bit of drilling and hogging out at the masthead, but came out great.
All the cleaned up parts were assembled with tel-gel and the winches were mounted using heavy tape beneath. Back on the boat, I pulled all the chainplates, cleaned them up, had them inspected and re-installed.
The best part of the deal was a used boom and rigid vang the rigger gave me from a Catalina 320. It was allot of work to change out, but a very noticeable improvement in the 40 mile race last week that was our shake down.
The job overall got expensive, as I changed out my foil for a furler too .. but the piece of mind and performance is worth it to me.
Good luck on yours. Be careful of the question; Can I ? .. it gets to the pocket book.

Regards, Greg

 

[sveinutne]

Hi Greg,
Thanks for your info. My mast has taken a lot of beating, maybe from an other mast close by in a storm, so it needs more then just scrubbing. I was planning to paint the mast to make it look better, but non in our marina has ever painted a mast, so I was not sure if that is the right thing to do. I will have a professional to look the mast over before doing anything. I need to know if it is safe to continue using the mast before I will clean it up.

 

[ted_reshetiloff]

Okay my buddy made it to Bermuda and replied to my email about the leather for spreader boots. He bought it from a company in California called Siegel.

https://www.siegelofca.com/default.asp

But he does not recall what specific type he bought and these guys have tons of the stuff. Says he caled them up told them what he wanted to do and they suggested a few pieces of leather.

He also told me that Fawcetts in Annapolis will sell pieces of gray elk hide. That would probably be an easier way to go as you could get a smaller piece and elkhide is easier to punch than the thicker stuff he used.

Emerald not sure where your private message went but my metal guy in Annapolis is Pete Appell of Rhode River Fabrication 410-279-0210

 

[Emerald]

Hi Ted,

thanks for the leather update. I could use a trip to Fawcett's anyway, so I'll have to check in for some elk.

Thanks also for the metal contact.

 

[O_Scott]

Has anyone tried to touch up an Ericson black mast. We just bought a E38 which has a badly scratched mast. Sitting on the ground next to it at the yard, was a large black mast of some boat, that had been brushed black (not recently but in the past) in some spots to touch it up. I dont know how it looked installed, but it was 'only slightly noticiable' on the ground, but not too bad. I wonder how it looked from the ground when the stick was up??

Anyone know how this is done?? Or has anyone tried to spot paint their black Ericson mast. Anyone have any luck repainting (by brush?) their anodized mast? Thanks in advance. Oreon