More Mast Hardware

     I got my hinged mast step back from the welding shop and it looks like it is going to work great. I spent a few hours polishing it up a little although it didn't want to shine up as nice as the swivel did because the angle is extruded and that leaves a lot of imperfections in the surface which makes polishing a real challenge. I decided to hinge the step so I could easily lower the mast if I ran into a vertical clearance problem. Below are a couple different views of the step. The top picture shows the step in the closed position which is the position where the mast is in the upright position. You can see the hinge in the forefront of the picture. The bolt in the top part of the picture is a locking bolt that will lock the mast in the up position along with the forestays.

 

     The bottom view shows the step in the open position which is where the mast would be in the lowered position. The smaller inner box is screwed to the bottom of the mast while the outer angles are screwed to the deck.

 

 

Yard Arms and Mast Hardware

     I have finished my yard arms and they are ready to mount on the mast as soon as I get it painted. I used schedule 40 stainless steel pipe and polished it to a chrome like finish, a couple stainless steel flanges to mount them with and some end caps. They really look nice, and should provide a good mounting surface for some of my antennas.

     I've made three trips to the welding shop in the past few days, and I don't have my mast step and boom swivel completed yet. I had to have them change the hinged mast step because they put one of the hinge parts in the wrong place. I did get the boom swivel back (picture below) but I need to modify it just a bit to make it work properly. That's what happens when you design something yourself. You have to get it built before you can tell if it is going to work the way you want it to. It's hard to see if everything is going to clear when it moves, on the drawings. So far the problems have been minor so it will be easy to fix. This little contraption will allow the mast boom to swivel left and right as well as up and down.

This is my Mast Boom Swivel

 



Back to Work Again!

     I had to take some time off to visit my kids in Virginia last week but now I'm back at it, working on the Molly B. I spent most of today designing a mounting bracket for my anchor light. I got it designed and built so it's ready to mount as soon as I get the mast painted. I also spent some time pulling wires for my radar. This afternoon I had to go to the upholstery shop and pick up my cushions for the dinette seats and the seat on the bridge. So, I did manage to get a little done today.

Summer in Florida

     Yes, It's summer here in Florida also, mighty hot and lots of humidity. I've been working every day on the Molly B and getting some things done. The engine shutdown system didn't work out because I had the wrong circuit board. I had to upgrade to the 5 circuit board in order to hook up the generator, engines, and blowers. That's four circuits and the board I had only had three circuits. As soon as it arrives, I can complete the installation of the engine shutdown system. In the mean time I've been working on some wiring for my winch for the mast boom and the mast itself. I've been pulling wires through the mast and getting my radar mount finished up. I'm making progress as usual all be it a little on the slow side. I've also been dealing with radiation treatments for my prostate cancer so that has really slowed me down as well. I just can't seem to work more than a couple of hours a day and I'm worn out. My Dr. says that will pass in a month or so. Maybe then I can get a little more done each day. I'm getting so close to the launch of this project I really need to get it finished up and in the water! I'm getting really anxious the closer I get.