Friday, June 7, 2013

This is Where Boating Gets Expensive

I had the mast surveyed and there were several serious issues. What do you want? It’s a 35 year-old boat with mostly original parts!

I’m always amazed when I see someone go up a mast with such nonchalance. Kevin of Stix ‘n Riggin’ buckled into his harness and zipped up there so easily I was envious. I’ll have to learn to do that soon. He looked things over and called down what was needed to Brian, who stood on the deck making notes and keeping track of the halyard holding Kevin up.

All of the plastic parts were shot. The swage fittings were cracked. The lights that were still good couldn’t be seen through the sun-damaged lenses. The list grew. There was much to be done.

After Kevin finished his high wire act, he zoomed off to some other task and left Brian to describe the job to me. The original bid listed 26 line items. When completed, I’ll have a nicely refurbished mast that will last another 35 years.
The Pros Doing Their Bit

One of the line items was painting the mast. The price was high enough that I decided to consult “the committee” to see what they thought. The committee consists of neighbors that have been involved with boats either by cruising, repairing or being around them for many years. The consensus was to skip painting the mast. The reasoning goes like this: the mast is aluminum and naturally oxidizes thereby protecting itself from surface damage. Painting the mast would require acid etching to remove the oxidation so the paint would adhere. If the paint were damaged moisture would wick under the paint and create bubbles in the paint. Then the cycle of sand-and-paint would begin. Better to leave it unpainted and let the aluminum protect itself.

So I passed on the painting and added lazy jacks and an LED spreader light to the bid.

The original masthead had a wind point and anemometer that was wired to gauges in the cockpit. I don’t need no stinkin’ wind pointer to tell me where the wind is coming from! I’ll just use my face. It’s easy; just look into the wind until you feel it evenly on your face. Job done! That’s one more gauge and the wires and electricity needed to operate it out of the system.  I even passed on the Windex. I have the sails to tell me if I’m not pointing correctly and tell tales on the jib and main to indicate airflow. Low tech – that’s the object here.

The anemometer is fun for referencing wind strength but I’ll do without the electric draw for that too.

Now there are folks that told me that I could do this stuff myself. Sure. That’s true. It would take me a dozen trips up the mast…in the 95 degree heat…and maybe three months of my time. This way it’s done in TWO WEEKS and done correctly. I have a friend rebuilding his mast himself and it’s been a year. Nope. Right now I’ve got the resources (a paying job) so I’ll have a pro do it.

Without the mast the boat looks wrong. I’ll be happy when the mast is back up where it belongs.
Looks a Little Sad, Don't It?