MAST FAILURE: On the fourth raising the mast hinge failed completely--dramatically. This pointed out a flaw that I had not detected earlier. As of today, February 17, I am in the process of moving the pivot point for the gin pole that should fix the problem. DO NOT use this method until the change has been made and tested.
At 3:00 am yesterday I started working on the fixes. The first thing was to make new plugs for the mast. I was too embarrassed to go back to Ron and tell him that I screwed up all his fine machining so I cut them out with the band saw and cleaned them up with a spindle sander--they will work fine. Then the gin pole was shortened so that it will fit the new pivot points.
In the latest iteration the shrouds will remain attached to the chainplates -- thus preventing the mast from pitching forward during the lowering process--duh! Why didn't I think of that in the first place?
The new pivot points will be made out for deck fairleads with a little spacer. This picture shows the fairleads with spacer and backing plate. I used high density polyethylene because that's what I had in the scrap box. The 3/8 bolt will be the pivot axle. Of course the gin pole legs needed to be shortened and rebored. The bevel gauge helped keep the drill angled correctly.
The next task is to get the old plugs out of the mast and the king post. When the new hinge arrives, we will put it all back together and see how it works. I keep thinking this is what it will look like if a shroud or the forestay fail while we are out sailing.
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