Luff tube out of the mast

Saturday 24 Oct, HHN, boat winterizing day 24:
Another stunning day here. But the long run of these warm sunny autumn days ends tonight. 24degC today, 11 tomorrow! (70->52 degF) and in mid teens for the next week. Result is that I must make the most of today to be outside.

Ray arrives after breakfast, and we set about pulling the luff tube out the top of the mast, then retrieve the 2 swivels ready for service. A job we are 50% successful at. The tube comes out OK, even if we do have to weave it between the boats opposite. Surprisingly, it’s not too heavy, and with the 2 of us we manage to keep it off the ground as it bends.
With the luff tube removed, we see how wonderfully clean and shiny the sail area is, polished to perfection by the mainsail every time it furls in and out. Not so the other sections of the mast, like the halyard section, which looks dirty and the aluminum is slightly corroded. No wonder the sail is a bit dirty – it is basically one big in-mast cleaning cloth!
Ray slides out and removed the halyard swivel very easily. Clearly it is ready for a service. It rotates OK, but is has 12 years’ worth of dirty hardened grease in and around the bear races.

I then get to retrieve the troublesome lower swivel. I pull it up the mast to the first spreader, then “donk”… it will go no further. The donut on the end is too big to pass the internal fixings of the spreader fittings. In diagrams, it shows this donut should have 2 flat sides, presumably to get it passed these obstructions. But ours doesn’t seem to have these. Try as we might, wiggling this way and that, it just won’t pass this point. And there is no way I’m removing all 6 spreader fittings.
So, it looks like it will have to go south instead of north, out the bottom of the mast. This means the mast foot needs to be removed and also likely some cleats. Before I do this, I’ll consult again with Steve from East Coast Rigging. Maybe he has some tricks up his sleeve for this one. Meanwhile, the luff tube gets pushed back in and Ray heads off to do weekend type chores.

While the white plastic cover is off the mast, I take time to join all the various lengths with heat-shrink tape, to make one long length of cover. I want to make sure it’s ready for the rain in the coming days, and the snow in winter.

Next, is a quick trip back to Weaver Boats for some more metal polishing. There seems to be an endless stream of stainless bits and pieces, all needing a healthy shine and polish. Then to dirty work, taking apart the halyard swivel and giving is a diesel bath. By the end of the day all the gleamingly clean pieces are on the aft deck ready for reassembly. A job for a rainy day. Likely tomorrow.