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Mast Pin Guide and Furler Trailering Support   Total Page Hits: 949

Post Type: Technical/Project

Boat Part: Mast

Date Modified: 01/29/2022 11:02 PM

Details

My boat has the old style mast tabernacle that requires inserting a pin or bolt to hold the mast base in place and acts as a hinge. A minor annoyance occurs when inserting the pin: after you put it through one side of the tabernacle and one side of the mast the pin might wander slightly, making it harder to hit the holes on the other side. It's not a big deal but the solution is very simple and cheap. It does make setup just a tiny bit faster/easier.

I made a guide for the pin out of a 1/2" o.d. aluminum tube. The inside diameter of the tube is just over 3/8". I enlarged the holes in the mast from 3/8" to 1/2" and inserted the tube/pipe. I cut the tube about 1/8"-3/16" longer than the outside width of the mast, allowing a very small bit to extend outside the walls on each side. I used a ball peen hammer to peen over the ends until they were flush with the mast walls. This locks the tube in place, like a rivet. A little touch up with a file feathered the peened ends to the mast walls. Now when the pin is inserted in the mast it comes right out the other side. No wandering possible!

For the pin, I wanted one with a better grip/handle. A long 3/8' stainless eye bolt works perfectly! The eye is easy to grip and makes a good attachment point for a tether. I filed the threads off to make it smoother, rounded the end, and drilled it for a keeper pin.

To keep the roller furler drum from flopping and possibly damaging the furler extrusion when trailering, I made a support out of a 4' cedar 1 X 3 and a short piece of 4" PVC sewer pipe. The board is cut to fit inside the mast and slides under the guide tube. This avoids having to lash it along the mast. I added a short board to the top of the forward end and angled the edges to provide a mounting surface for a curved drum "cradle" cut from PVC pipe. A couple of bungees hold the furler in the cradle.

Incidentally, the 20W solar panel is attached to a RAM mount on the wood mast support on the bow pulpit. It keeps the battery topped up all winter long. No need to take the battery out for our long Minnesota winters! The system does have a solar controller to prevent overcharging. The solar panel will remain exposed when I pull the boat cover tarp forward to enclose the rest of the mast and the furler.

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