mast boot

[jjns]

I just thought of something that may negate the possibility of using the Spar-tite. My mast has some really cool electrical disconnects about a foot up from the bottom. These are a very old style quick disconnects for all the gear at the top of the mast, aside from being a little clunky, they are actually quite useful.
The problem is, they are slightly proud of the tube, even more so with the little metal slide covers over the holes. They ALWAYS catch on the teak finisher at the partner, my guess is the Spar-tite will not like trying to go over them, they are sharp.

Maybe Cam's rope and silicone deal would be better?

Removing them somehow seems like a violation, but maybe I just need to get over that.

[jbondy]

Sorry if this is a hijack, but ... What is the purpose of the shims? My boat doesn't have any, at least not since I bought her.

TIA

[jjns]

My mast sits on my keel. Where it passes thru the deck is a hole. There must be enough clearance to get it the stick in and out, so there is excess clearance at the mast partner (deck plate around said hole) in the deck. The mast slides in, then the shims are put in to center and align the mast, with a boot over it all to keep out the rain.

[jbondy]

Thanks. And sorry, I should have mentioned that mine is also keel stepped. The hole in the deck has less than a 1/2" of play on any one side. Since Pokey doesn't have any shims, then I guess it's possible that the mast is a 1/2" or so off center, which doesn't sound meaningful. More worrisome might be whether when under tension the mast would bang against the sides of the hole, thereby either damaging the deck or chafing the mast itself against the fiberglass. I've never heard any sounds that would indicate this is happening, though.

[sailingdog]

The shims are to keep the mast centered properly in the boat until the rigging is fastened and tensioned when stepping the mast.

Originally Posted by jbondy

Sorry if this is a hijack, but ... What is the purpose of the shims? My boat doesn't have any, at least not since I bought her.

TIA

[TaylorC]

You can make a mast boot out of neoprene. There is a thread over here that describes it.

[patrickrea]

I use the SSI rubber boot. Cut to fit, glue the raw edges together and then stainless clamps top and bottom to make a nice tight seal. Works well and looks clean.

[jjns]

update time:
The boat is finally back in the water with a large stick thru the roof.
The SSI boot is on there to keep the water out till I get around to pouring the Spartite. I set up the rig as per GIU's sticky.

The 1st time around I missed the part about pulling the wedges, all was fine save for the reverse bellying of the mast.

Once I slackened everything and pulled the shims and re-tensioned once again, all looked good from a rake/prebend profile but now my mast is all the way forward in the partner (>1/4 in. clearance)

Part of me wants to leave it with the SSI boot in place, hang the sails and worry about it later.

The more intelligent side says deal with it now, slacken it off push the mast back, lengthen the furler and re-tension the rig.

So what are the chances that I will be able to shift the mast on the step, without the use of the crane. It is only about 49 ft long and aluminum.

Is it possible to lengthen the furler while it is on the boat? (Harken mark II)

Will I ever get away from the dock this year? (please don't answer that one)

Thanks

[SVCarolena]

JJNS - Did you ever resolve this? Just wondering if you were able to get the mast centered after it was on the step.