Hinged Mast Base

[j.hunter9999]

Craig,
Do you have the specs on the hinged mast base you installed? Drawings or a quote from Ballenger? Could you email me them?

Thanks,
Jack

 

[vegatern]

I don\'t\' have the measurements here but the picture in the photo section might help a bit. The part number is B HMB M30 and is made of 1/4" stainless. It cost $215.00 two years ago. Also needed was a 3/4" plate of black Delrin large enough to carve a plug that fits tightly into the base of the mast. That was about $18. The guys at Ballenger Spars did the installation but it should only require basic shop skills.
The base plate of the hinge was drilled and I bolted it to the deck, the holes having been countersunk so the bolt heads don\'t get in the way. The top half of the hinge is drilled and large screws were run into the Delrin. The Delrin was pre-drilled, or perhaps it was drilled and tapped for machine screws. I can\'t recall just now, I think it was tapped. Four small holes were drilled through the mast and screws run into the Delrin to hold it in place. I drilled the center of the plug out for mast wires but I think eventually I will run them out the side of the mast and through a deck fitting. That should stop any water leaking through the mast step.
Ballenger Spars, on the web or at 831-763-1196, should be able to provide parts or tell you what to ask for locally. They also had a step that did not have the holes for attaching halyard blocks.
The bail at the mast step worked well for the previous owner and then myself for a number of years. Insert a length of ½ " or 3/4" PVC pipe as a compression tube and run a through bolt through that. If I recall I ran the vang from the back of the old step and 2 halyards, 3 jiffy reef lines, main downhaul and topping lift from the bail. Sometimes a block would twist and a line would jamb. After reading the dounload, Single Handing Tips, I think I will set up to reef from the mast and try that for awhile. Jiffy is fast but getting a clean reef and avoiding chaffe is an issue.
Craig Tern 1519

 

[j.hunter9999]

Thanks, Craig! This is exactly the information that I needed!

 

[n6ric]

Craig,
It looks like you have a whole lot of lines coming from the mast up to the cockpit. What are they all for? Do you have two reefing lines for each reef point? Any problem with that many lines? And 3/4" of Delrin provides enough support to attach the hindge? It doesn't seem like much, but I guess there is no stress on it expect when you're raising or lowering the mast. Otherwise, it just keeps the mast centered on the step, right? It seemed a lot more than $18 now days also. I found a 12x12x3/4" piece for $103.

I'd also be interested to know what you have going on off the stern of your boat. It wasn't a closeup shot of the stern so I couldn't tell what everything was. Is some of that for a wind vane?
Thanks,
Ric
s/v Blue Max
#2692

 

[vegatern]

Ric, What you see on the stern, under and behind the solar panel, is the quadrant for the Navik wind vane. It is an old picture and I have since removed it since it is vulnerable on the mooring. The boats swing against each other at times.

Right now the lines coming to the cockpit are, from port to starboard; topping lift, cunningham, spinnaker halyard, jib halyard. All but the topping lift come to a rope clutch. On the starboard coach roof is the first single line reef, second reef, main halyard and main down haul. There is a third reef but I've removed the line as it is not needed for day sails. Coming down the stanchions on the port rail is the tack line for the asymmetrical spinnaker, which I am now using also for the tacks on the smaller jibs (Chuck's suggestion, and I have no idea why I wasn't doing that before). On the starboard rail is the jib downhaul. If I fly the asyem I will also run a light line up to the bow before the hoist, then before the drop, this will be connected to the tack's snap shackle permitting the tack to be blown from the cockpit.

Perhaps there are a lot of lines and some may be unnecessary. Others I wouldn't do without, now that I've used them, the jib downhaul for instance. The layout is pretty much as it was set up by the previous owner but I've made some changes, and now I want to try reefing at the mast, which I have not done with this boat, and that will change things again, a lot. What is remarkable is that of the 3500 or so Vegas built, there are 3500 or so different setups. Perhaps more amazing is that they all work perfectly well for their owners. You can't say that about a Prius or an Acura. Some modifications are better than others though and I like the mast bail on the Mystic Rose. It looks cleaner than my setup on the Tern.

I think a through bolt in the mast needs a compression tube. Dimpling or creasing the mast wall is probably something to avoid.

I've been posting with some regularity lately. There must be some unpleasant chore that I am avoiding.

Craig 1519Tern