| Author | Message | ||
     Scott Corder (Pastcommodore) Rating: N/A |
John, I would have to concur with much of what jroy posted on your mast sheave issues. If, in fact, you haven't been performing regular (2-3 times per season) inspection and lubrication of the masthead hardware, I would strongly suggest dropping the rig for a complete inspection (and the sheave replacement). I know it's a pain to drop, but the opportunity to inspect EVERYTHING at ground level is really worth it. jroy is correct when he says it may just be impossible to reach and remove the parts required to replace the sheaves. The mere pain in the butt of several likely trips up/down to retrieve all the right tools, etc. is another huge consideration. Needless to say, drilling and tapping anything from a bosuns chair would be a true adventure!! We drop our rig every season to facilitate a complete inspection - loosening, lubricating and retightening everything (which keeps fasteners from seizing)(we also replace the spreader pins annually). Re-taping the top of the headfoil and any tuffluff on the headstay (an annual necessity) is also much easier with the rig down. We just feel much better in general after an annual inspection. Like frequent winch maintenance, the crew also loves a trouble-free and fully lubricated masthead. I agree that the wire sheaves aren't ideal for rope halyards, but we have had no problems running 3/8 rope through ours for the past 5 years. I removed our sheaves once and had to drive the pin out with a hammer. I was very glad the rig was on the ground. | ||
| jroy Rating: N/A |
Yes there is a pin that is held captive by a cover plate on the side of the mast. The biggest obstacle is the halyard gaurd which has to be removed first. It has a single machine screw on the front of the mast and a pair of bolts on the top. That screw was siezed on my mast and after a week of penetrating oil I tried to remove it with a lot of heat, more oil and an impact driver. After backing it out 1 1/2 turns the head snapped off. In the end I had to drill the screw out and retap the mast. I was lucky that the screws holding the genoa pin cover came out with only one whack from the impact driver. I was not so luck with the cover for the main halyard pin. I did all this while my mast was on saw horses. Unless you have recently backed these fasteners out and/or replaced them, I think the odds are the sheaves cannot be replaced from a bosuns chair. | ||
| John Stefancik (Jstef) Rating: N/A |
Has anyone replaced their mast sheeves, specifically the ones for the genoa and spinnaker halyards. I'm convinced that mine have frozen and stopped spinning. Also, since they were built for rope to wire, they're not the greatest design for the blue warpspeed line I have running over them now. I want to avoid having to unstep the mast, and have asked a rigger if he can replace the sheeves with the rig intact. He said only if there is a pin in the mast that goes between the sheeves and can be removed. You'd think I would know the answer to this question after having been up there so many times, but for the life of me I cannot remember. Does anyone know about replacing them? Thanks. John Stefancik Hurricane Kelley (#5) |
