How do I add a new turning block at base of mast?

[flightlead404]

2007 H38 with Selden IMF

There is a fore-aft ping running through the casting at the bottom of the mast around which the shackle of the blocks is attached.

I thought I could just slip the shackle bow of a new block around the pin in one of the empty spaces. It turns out the ends of the shackle bow are too fat to slip around. It looks as though I need to remove a torx head screw and somehow extract the pin and reinsert it with the new shackle bow in place.

Is this correct or am I missing something?

 

[kappykaplan]

@flightlead404 , do you have any photos of this?

 

[JoeWhite]

Try to remove the one that is already installed without removing the pin. If you were not able to then you are right, the pin needs to come out. If you remove the pin, then add more shackles in unused slots for future.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Selden is located in North Charleston, SC. Give them a call

 

[flightlead404]

ok I found some instructions buried on Selden site. Looks like I'm correct that torx screw and shaft are removed. Anyone done this and have any tips for me? Its probably never been removed since the boat was originally commissioned.

 

[rgranger]

You need to break up any mechanical bonding that has occured through the years. The day before you plan to work on it... squirt some PB blaster into the recess areas... then the next day...before you start messing with it... give the end of the pin a few gentle raps with a hammer. A few taps on the head of the screw would also be a good idea.

 

[flightlead404]

Well this turned out to be easy peasy. Wish all jobs were this simple.

I couldn't get the torx head to budge so I shot a little PB Blaster on it (HATE their new spray can flip up nozzle contraption) and waited a couple hours while I did some other stuff. It came out without any major cursing.

The rod slid out towards the front very easily, although I had to maneuver it around some of the cables coming out of the mast.

Obviously you do need to make sure any lines running through the existing blocks are unloaded, but that's no biggie.

 

[dkinzer]

I thought I could just slip the shackle bow of a new block around the pin [...]

What brand/model number of block did you add? I've been thinking about adding a turning block or two but haven't yet looked for one that would fit. My H41DS is a 2007 also so the blocks are probably a similar size or slightly larger.

 

[flightlead404]

I used defender #600037 HARKEN 75MM CARBO SGL/SWIVEL

This is for the 12mm stayset I will be using as a spinnaker halyard. I replaced my two blocks for the continuous furling 18 months ago with smaller sized blocks (10mm line I think 70mm block), but reused the shackle bows already installed so had not gone through this process before.

In the process today I moved my jib halyard from the furthest forward location on the port side rearward and located the spinnaker block where the jib block was.

Tomorrow I'm going to send my wife up the mast to inspect, clean, and lube the previously unused spinnaker sheave and to reeve the new halyard with the pull string that Hunter so nicely left there 15 years ago. She's so hard core!

 

[quadrille38]

I used defender #600037 HARKEN 75MM CARBO SGL/SWIVEL

This is for the 12mm stayset I will be using as a spinnaker halyard. I replaced my two blocks for the continuous furling 18 months ago with smaller sized blocks (10mm line I think 70mm block), but reused the shackle bows already installed so had not gone through this process before.

In the process today I moved my jib halyard from the furthest forward location on the port side rearward and located the spinnaker block where the jib block was.

Tomorrow I'm going to send my wife up the mast to inspect, clean, and lube the previously unused spinnaker sheave and to reeve the new halyard with the pull string that Hunter so nicely left there 15 years ago. She's so hard core!

Hi I’m contemplating adding the spinnaker halyard as well. I wondered if you were able to find a drawing that shows the proper routing of the halyard through the mast? Like yours ours came with the messenger installed but it’s not quite obvious to me exactly what path the messenger / halyard follows or should follow.

Thanks

 

[dkinzer]

Your mast may be different but on our 2007 H41DS, the spinnaker halyard goes through the port-most of the port side clutches, through the quad deck organizer, to a turning block at the base of the mast and then into the mast about five or six feet above the deck and comes back out of the mast above the jib halyard but still several feet below the top of the mast.

 

[flightlead404]

Hi I’m contemplating adding the spinnaker halyard as well. I wondered if you were able to find a drawing that shows the proper routing of the halyard through the mast? Like yours ours came with the messenger installed but it’s not quite obvious to me exactly what path the messenger / halyard follows or should follow.

Thanks

The messenger line ended up being a comedy of errors. The Mrs ended up going up the stick at least three times, one time coming down in rather a hurry due to a pop-up thunderstorm nearby.

The 18 year old messenger line was not over the sheave but rather off to the side and jammed in well. Took a significant amount of effort to free it which broke it. Managed to recover it, line wouldn't feed, in the effort the messenger was lost.

So, I went to the local bike shop and got 18" of bike chain out of the trash and got some garden twine from Ace. Tied the chain to the line and dropped it down inside the mast. Things seemed to be hanging up right about where the radar/deck light is, but a bit of jiggling got the chain/messenger through and was able to grab it through the fairlead in the mast and fish it out.

There's something in the mast I don't quite understand. It looks like some foam or packing material or something, but when I pulled the main back up it pulled out of the mast fairlead with the main sail halyard. I have new sails coming so I'll be taking that down again soon and will play with it some more, but for now all halyards seem to be operating correctly if not as friction-free as I would like.

I spliced an eye and put a key pin shackle on it. When not in use I shackle it out of the way to the base of the inner shroud.

I have another similar (no key pin) shackle on the bottom of the furler and shackle it to a hole in the front of the center section of my anchor roller. I will probably replace this with a snap shackle similar to this at some point, and lead a short piece of light line from the release pin back so I can release it easily without hanging over the bow pulpit.

 

[quadrille38]

Your mast may be different but on our 2007 H41DS, the spinnaker halyard goes through the port-most of the port side clutches, through the quad deck organizer, to a turning block at the base of the mast and then into the mast about five or six feet above the deck and comes back out of the mast above the jib halyard but still several feet below the top of the mast.

thanks
I believe the routing is the same.

 

[quadrille38]

The messenger line ended up being a comedy of errors. The Mrs ended up going up the stick at least three times, one time coming down in rather a hurry due to a pop-up thunderstorm nearby.

The 18 year old messenger line was not over the sheave but rather off to the side and jammed in well. Took a significant amount of effort to free it which broke it. Managed to recover it, line wouldn't feed, in the effort the messenger was lost.

So, I went to the local bike shop and got 18" of bike chain out of the trash and got some garden twine from Ace. Tied the chain to the line and dropped it down inside the mast. Things seemed to be hanging up right about where the radar/deck light is, but a bit of jiggling got the chain/messenger through and was able to grab it through the fairlead in the mast and fish it out.

There's something in the mast I don't quite understand. It looks like some foam or packing material or something, but when I pulled the main back up it pulled out of the mast fairlead with the main sail halyard. I have new sails coming so I'll be taking that down again soon and will play with it some more, but for now all halyards seem to be operating correctly if not as friction-free as I would like.

I spliced an eye and put a key pin shackle on it. When not in use I shackle it out of the way to the base of the inner shroud.

I have another similar (no key pin) shackle on the bottom of the furler and shackle it to a hole in the front of the center section of my anchor roller. I will probably replace this with a snap shackle similar to this at some point, and lead a short piece of light line from the release pin back so I can release it easily without hanging over the bow pulpit.

Thanks
that sounds unfortunately like a typical boat project. Things that should be easy and take no time at all seem to always turn into a frustrating (and sometimes expletive laced experience LOL) .

Appreciate your insights