It's the Little Things

Here's a couple of problems solved.  We were forever finding the halyard line sunk into the mast track groove. If you think about it, putting a sheave mid mast puts about a two inch offset on the pull angle.  The angle gets more obtuse as the sail head reaches the top.  When you pull the sail down, it just threads the entire luff groove.  Imagine the aggravation trying to repeatedly jerk outward on the halyard line while balancing in a pitching sea.   You get the idea.



So my cure is a small block of teak about one inch by one-half inch square placed at the top of the luff groove as a stopper.  I hollowed out the back to match the radius of  the mast. A carefully drilled hole in the lower third of the block was drilled with deep taper to accommodate a one-inch flat head stainless #8 screw.  I contemplated using cyanoacrylate glue to secure but decided a nice tight screw would hold fine as I found my drill sinking through the solid block inset to the mast tube.  If the piece should crack and fail, I would want a lot of grief removing it.  A strap eye was bent from flat to clevis shape to serve as a fairlead.  The fairlead was bolted through a carefully drilled transverse hole drilled through the upper third.  A transition rounding was filed in the pass-through section of the wood.  This arrangement should stop the sail luff at the top and re-route the pull to an angle just outside the luff groove.  The fairlead will keep the line from falling to the side and becoming fouled as the sail reaches the top of the mast.  Click on the picture for a more detailed look.

 Tridarka's rudder sustain substantial damage on the way back from Cedar Key.  I had carefully attached it to the mast with a couple of bungees but apparently it worked loose and dragged on the pavement for a few miles.  Note the flat spot where the rudder met the road.
I have decided while in the process of re-shaping the rudder to core-drill and put some lead shot in each hole.  The idea is to reduce neutral buoyancy so I will have some steerage when leaving from a beach.  Once in deeper water the rudder is cleated in the down position with a break-away cleat. I need just a little rudder into the water to maintain steerage when the rudder is not fully down.  A few ounces of lead should help.

I opened up an old dive belt and used a few ounces of pellets.  My plan was to take pictures of the six one-half inch holes I drilled in the foot of the rudder. Unfortunately, their is no photographic record.  Alternately I poured shot and epoxy until the holes were full.  Then I glued with thickened epoxy the wooden cap on the rudder from which I will shape the bottom of the rudder.  Here it is drying in my shop.

Four pounds of shot hold the cap in place.