Mast Hardware Part II

The first half of July was full time 'round the clock work finishing the mast hardware, fitting hardware, shaping and sanding the boom, varnishing everything and making sure the myriad of details and pieces where all coming together.

An obstacle in making this happen had been the turnbuckles. I needed 14 x 5/8" Turnbuckles and new they would have been prohibitively expensive. It took three quarters of a year but I managed to find Merriman turnbuckles and toggles in good used or new-old-stock condition through trading, EBay and a used Marine Chandlery  in California. They ended costing a quarter of the new cost. I machined new clevis pins for all the connections.

Again, once I looked up the price for a 5/8" clevis pin and multiplied it by the number I needed (a lot!)  I had no choice but get some 316 stainless rod and make them on the metal lathe. I used aluminum- nickle-bronze clevis pins at the waterline for the boomkin stay and bobstay  toggles.

A big pile of bronze hardware. There are a ton of details and all the pieces have to come together. 

The goose neck assembly almost all together.

You might be able to see the black delrin bushings I machined between the pivoting points of the goose neck assembly.

The outhaul. A lot of machining here and some grateful help from my friend Barry who volunteered to machine the track. It turned out really well, .... perhaps perfect.

Fitting the anchor roller to the bowsprit. The roller assembly clamps around the bowsprit so there are no bolts drilled through the sprit. The axle for the rollers passes underneath the sprit. This also acts as the tang for the forestay.

The upper spreader tangs are fitted and ready for TIG welding together. The mast head got multiple coats of creosote and thinned varnish before final installation

Mast head welded and ready for installation

Shaping the spreaders out of Douglas Fir

Spreader tips in solid bronze through bolted with 10-24 machine screws tapped into a bottom plate.

 The Mast at Abernethy and Gaudin Boat Builders. The next weeks were a marathon of fitting the hardware and getting varnish on it.

The boom had been made last summer but was still rough shaped. It had to be sanded down, black locust risers glued on for the reefing cheek blocks, track riser glued on and ends fitted to the goose neck straps and boom end casting.

 I had to get the mast track, 7x7 316 stainless wire, fasteners and thimbles and other pieces from Port Townsend Foundry. The brass Davey 1" internal track came from R&W Rope. Sourcing the 7x7 wire was a worry but Myles Thurlow (Rigging) out of Vineyard Haven, MA  pulled through and 550 ft of 3/8" 7x7 wire was shipped to P.T on time. I had priced out other options including Sta-Lok but the wire and thimbles for spliced rigging was half the price and has other advantages including looking really good on a traditional boat. Pete Langley at Port Townsend Foundry really pulled through with some last minute work which I am very grateful for. Mid July I drove over with the Black Ball Ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles to bring it all back. Just in time for my friend John Stone to arrive who was to help me for the next three weeks getting the mast on the boat and rigged.