My 2006, 387 hull #106 has developed. a concerning problem with the cast alloy sparcraft mast step secures the base of the mast to the deck. The mast step is secured to the deck via 4 corner bolts and in my case the casting has fractured in 2 of the corners so now only secured via 2 bolts with the remainder no longer effective.
After sourcing the replacement part #FM-580 from Sparcraft France, next steps were to secure a rigger to undertake the work and prepare for the day to ensure the riggers costs were minimised. In our case we elected to jack the mast manually to avoid significant cost blowouts the use of a crane can trigger.
Preparation tasks:
Source some 2 mm high-density polyethylene plastic sheet, trace a template of the mast step with a marker, cutting this using scissors seemed to work best, this is required to
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(The following article is reprinted with permission from the Catalina 320 group.)
According to Wikipedia, “A preventer, or jibe-guard, is a mechanical device on a sailing vessel which limits the boom’s ability to swing dangerously across the boat during an accidental jibe. The uncontrolled jibe (or gybe) is feared by all sensible yachtsmen. The heavy boom can potentially inflict severe head injuries or dispatch crew members over board; even the mainsheet or traveler can also inflict serious injury. Uncontrolled jibes may also damage the boat itself.”
On Sea Shadow, a Catalina 320 (#808), we take the threat of the uncontrolled jibe very seriously. While I have always secured the boom to a forward deck cleat when sailing any lower than 120 degrees apparent off the wind, it was not until I had the opportunity to sail with Orlando Duran on his Catalina Morgan 44 that I learned a better way
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Does anyone have experience with Ronstan ballslide batten cars on a Charleston mast? Strongly considering getting a set for the full length battens as the batten compression makes the mainsail somewhat difficult to > hoist and requires a trip on deck to pull it down when dropping. Appears to be a great product, not requiring a track, thus much less money than Harken and others. Also allows for addressing the batten slides only vs. replacing all slugs, as would be required with a special track.
Leon
Akula-San Francisco
C380#144
Leon,
I installed the Ronstan Battslide Cars 2 years ago, when I bought new sails.You will need more than just the batten cars, there are cars in between the battens as well. It works well for me. I too didn’t like much having to go forward to pull down the sail.
In practice it depends on how quickly and accurately
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