Mizzen Mast Refit

[Jasper & Karen]

Long ago, I promised to add pics and information about our mizzen mast, recovered from an old trimaran and lightly tweaked to fit Viajador. Some of those pictures follow.

At 40' of length, the mast was close enough to specs that we decided not to shorten it. Removing all of its hardware, we stripped it to bare wood using a heat stripper and then set about filling the sundry soft spots, bumps and bruises with epoxy putty. It wasn't in bad shape at all--a little superficial water damage in spots where some paint had failed, easily carved out and filled. The joints were sound except for a 4" section on one joint, which we filled with Cold Cure epoxy.

All of the screw and bolt holes were either plugged or dowelled--we're getting really good at doing this as a team and it took very little time. As soon as the epoxy was set on the plugs, we sanded--and then refilled, shaping more difficult contours on edges that had taken a bit of a beating. In all, I think we took 3-4 passes at filling and sanding and ultimately, you couldn't tell it was the same mast.

While I was fussing with the filling, Jasper cut the mortise in the bottom of the mast, to fit our step, and angled the cut at the bottom ever so slightly: the rigger had alerted us to measure the angle at which the mast is to meet the step very carefully, because although it looks like 90 degrees that's seldom the case. The angle here determines how far back you can rake the mast. I'll have to check this one with Jasper, but I think I recall it was just 1 degree off 90.

Two coats of penetrating epoxy (wood hardener) were applied, then two of primer and two of Interlux Brightside.

It was while these coats were drying that we had the bright idea to send the hardware for electropolishing. And it was a great idea--relatively inexpensive and the stainless came up really well. Sadly, it proved not to be all stainless hardware and I suppose the shop that did the work tossed it in the brine and left it unattended overnight--leaving us short a couple of turnbuckles! They came back looking like they'd spent a few years in a sandblaster, red and worthless. Bronze, we figure. Don't electropolish it.

It was just as we were ready to begin installing the hardware that Jasper had his heart attack, and I appealed to the rigger to step in and take over. Fortunately, the heart attack was so quickly dealt with that Jasper was fine and well able to supervise the work within a few days. It was painful to have to give it over to someone else to do, but also a relief to know the job would go ahead while Jasper rested up.

For folks who spend most of their time working with aluminum, this project was new and different and they really seemed to enjoy it. They collaborated well with us, and we all learned new things in the process. Within a week, they were ready to install and we motored over to their yard in Vancouver where they dropped in the mast while we were still in the water. It took all afternoon before they were satisfied with the rake and had the rigging all tuned, but the installation was nearly seamless. The only glitch was that the new partner we'd had made to hold the mast at the deckhouse top had to be removed before the mast would drop down properly into the step. Getting it back in place and the bolts tightened with the mast in place was a trick and a half, but they did it.

Unfortunately, all those photos reside on my cell phone, which stubbornly refuses to send them to my email address. Ain't technology grand.

We had already refinished the boom but, once installed, it proved long enough to be a hazard in our tight little slips in this marina. It was only 6" over specs, but Jasper took it back by a full foot, so it should not extend much beyond the davits now. It's still easily long enough for the mizzen sail we have, with room to increase the size if we want when we get to replacing that sail. But sadly, the nasty weather set in before we ever reinstalled it and so now, I will wait for spring to see how a Newporter was meant to sail!