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Subject :Problem with Two Part Bermudan Mast.. 2009-05-16 09:25:14

BrianL

Fresh Boarder

Joined: 2006-08-16 19:58:01
Posts: 10
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I recently upgraded to an FRP Heron. It has a two-part Bermudan mast which has some raised part in the groove, around the join. The sail catches on it and you have to give it a bit of a yank to raise it. This is damaging the sail - quite a bit of damage for a relatively little used sail. I got the boat secondhand and the person I got it from had also had this problem. Any ideas? It almost seems like a design fault but then I think it can\'t be. (can it?) As I didn\'t get it from Butler Boats directly, maybe I can\'t go to them about this. Is there a trick to raising the sail or do I need to change something about the mast?
Thanks for any help.
Brian

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Subject :Re:Problem with Two Part Bermudan Mast.. 2009-05-16 15:07:00

Serendipity

Senior Boarder

Joined: 2006-09-02 21:28:08
Posts: 44
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Hi Brian,

I got two from Dave recently for my boats and they both seem fine.

Does it have a strip of metal on one that slides into the sail groove on the other part? Is there just a rough edge that needs a file or smooth back with fine sand paper?

Have to say sail has only been up the new mast once so no idea of a problem really but there didn\'t seem to be any force needed to get it past the join...

Where is the damage - top of the sail or at the join?

Is it a SuperSpars or a Evolution/CustomSpars one?

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Subject :Re:Problem with Two Part Bermudan Mast.. 2009-05-26 09:17:27

BrianL

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Joined: 2006-08-16 19:58:01
Posts: 10
Location:

Thanks for the reply Calum. It\'s a Superspars mast. I looked at their website but didn\'t get any relevant info. I may need to contact them.

I investigated it more at the weekend. The cause is a metal strip, a few inches long that is in the sail groove and goes across the join. (I have taken a photo of it). When you haul the sail up, the head gets caught on this; you have to pull hard to get the sail past the metal strip and this is causing the damage. The damage is not to the sail fabric itself. It\'s to the top of the the sail near where you attach the halyard - the rope/rope covering on the hard bit (showing my ignorance of terminology here). This metal strip seems to be too high into the groove - it doesn\'t seem to me to be just a small bit that could be sandpapered.

I haven\'t separated and re-assembled the mast parts myself - I got the boat from ebay and the seller delivered it to me with the mast assembled.

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Last Edited On: 2009-05-26 09:20:12 By BrianL for the Reason

Subject :Re:Problem with Two Part Bermudan Mast.. 2009-05-26 17:25:46

Serendipity

Senior Boarder

Joined: 2006-09-02 21:28:08
Posts: 44
Location:

In fact the one bit of my boat that works is the mast

(Broke a centreboard and holed a hull this weekend!! Oh and pulled the main halyard all the way through the mast as well!)

You were quick with that ebay purchase... It disappeared mighty fast - think you got yourself a little bargain.

Since you asked I\'ve had the main up and down a few times and have not had any snagging as it goes past the join.

The bolt rope I believe is the term - could be a little thick for the grove? Any idea who made the sail? If it came from Dave it was likely a Sail Register one and so is mine.

The strip of metal you refer to should I think have a bend on the end to smooth the sail past... I\'ll try and get some photos as I suspect the mast will need to be down at some point in the next couple of weeks...

BTW - You can upload images (450 px x 450px Max) using the Img button above.

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Subject :Re:Problem with Two Part Bermudan Mast.. 2009-05-27 15:28:10

BrianL

Fresh Boarder

Joined: 2006-08-16 19:58:01
Posts: 10
Location:

Here\'s the photo

The sail is catching on the part which you can see near the bottom of the photo, in the groove.

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Last Edited On: 2009-05-27 15:30:21 By BrianL for the Reason

Subject :Re:Problem with Two Part Bermudan Mast.. 2009-09-29 20:48:19

BrianL

Fresh Boarder

Joined: 2006-08-16 19:58:01
Posts: 10
Location:

I phoned Superspars - they were very helpful and made some suggestions. Now I think I've found the cause. The metal strip is slightly damaged - it has a slight bend, with the result that it is forced higher in the groove than it should be. So now it's a matter of bending it straight again.

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Subject :Re:Problem with Two Part Bermudan Mast.. 2010-09-14 12:13:16

BrianL

Fresh Boarder

Joined: 2006-08-16 19:58:01
Posts: 10
Location:

I couldn't get the metal clip back into shape, so I finally dealt with this by getting the clip removed and the two parts of the mast riveted together.
So now it's a one part Bermudan mast.

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Last Edited On: 2010-09-14 12:13:16 By BrianL for the Reason


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