Centering mast

[Joesboat]

Hi Folks, the mast wedges slipped out of the partner a while back and now the mast is all the way over to one side in the partner. Fore and aft the mast is still centered in the opening.

Also, I have measured side to side while sitting in the bosuns chair attached to the halyard with tape marks checking the distance to the deck fittings, and it does indicate that the top of the mast is not centered over the deck, confirming the need to center it at the partner.

Will I be able to loosen only the upper, and lower shrouds, and the deck tie inside the cabin, and be able to reposition the mast so that it is centered side to side?
Any advice is welcome.

After i get it centered, I will have a local pro rigger tune the rigging and install Spartite, or wedges and a new boot

[High Current]

Yes.  You should remove and reinstall the other wedges as part of the process as they probably slipped down and will keep you from moving the mast in the direction you want.  You may not even need to loosen the shrouds: being wedge-shaped, the wedges do a good job of repositioning the mast if you tap them into place with a hammer.  However it would be good to check the rigging when you're done, but it can't be any worse than it is now with the wedges missing!

The owner's manual (see PDF on this site) has instructions for tensioning the rigging if you're into DIY.  Else you might as well let the rigger handle the wedges as well.

[Joesboat]

Thanks Ben, all of the wedges have fallen out. I was hesitant to do much hammering on the wedges, not knowing how much force is appropriate to reposition the mast in the partner.

I spoke to the rigger (in the parking lot) and he said i could center the mast and re-bed the chainplates myself. Then he will inspect and tune the rigging. Hoping to keep the current boot in place to kerp out the rain until the rigger is done. Then new boot and 'permanent" wedges

[Joesboat]

An afternoon cup of coffee, and4.5 hours from start to all cleaned up and i am pretty happy with it. Mast is centered in the partner and the top of the mast centered as far as I can tell. Mast appears straight sided to side and front to back.
Still Need to put a new boot on tomorrow.

I would like to use a loose gauge to assure the tensions are even and within the proper range.

Maybe the rigger will call me back.
He told me the shrouds will wear faster if they are too loose. Essentially because there is more movement being applied at the connection points.

[Noah]

I would be interested in what kind of mast boot you intend to use that can go on with the mast in place? My boot needed to be installed (slid on) when I was stepping the mast—almost 9 years ago. It has been protected by a Sunbrella canvas covering over it since then. Still no leaks. I am planning to replace the Sunbrella soon. As far as the loose shrouds cause more wear... I would think of that timeframe more in a glacial terms than a realtime worry.

[Stu Jackson]

The C34 Owners Manual has an extremely well written section on how to tune your rigging.  If you don't have a hard copy it is right here in the tech wiki.

[Joesboat]

I would be interested in what kind of mast boot you intend to use that can go on with the mast in place? 

I have the Universal Mast Boot by SSI, it can be fit over the unstepped mast like yours. I will cut this one vertically and try to have as much overlap as possible, with caulk between the overlapping layers. It looks to be similar to what I removed today, it had about 7-8 inches overlapping.

https://defender.com/en_us/ssi-universal-mast-boot

Yes to the timeframe being a factor in shroud deterioration.

[krafty81]

I would be interested in what kind of mast boot you intend to use that can go on with the mast in place? 

I have the Universal Mast Boot by SSI, it can be fit over the unstepped mast like yours. I will cut this one vertically and try to have as much overlap as possible, with caulk between the overlapping layers. It looks to be similar to what I removed today, it had about 7-8 inches overlapping.

https://defender.com/en_us/ssi-universal-mast-boot

Yes to the timeframe being a factor in shroud deterioration.

What masts circumference did you use for the boot?

[Ron Hill]

Joe : What happened to the original mast boot? You didn't mention that it was cracked or unusable?? If that is the case I'd go with the spar tight.

A thought

[Joesboat]

[/quote]What masts circumference did you use for the boot?
[/quote]

I measured the mast circumference at 24" and bought the SSI Model 914, around $60.

Joe : What happened to the original mast boot? You didn't mention that it was cracked or unusable?? If that is the case I'd go with the spar tight.

A thought

The old one came off in one piece but it is very weathered and been in use since 2009.
I may use spartite in the future, but for now, i had the new boot already sitting on the boat.

Thanks everyone for your input!

[High Current]

An afternoon cup of coffee, and4.5 hours from start to all cleaned up and i am pretty happy with it. Mast is centered in the partner and the top of the mast centered as far as I can tell. Mast appears straight sided to side and front to back.
Still Need to put a new boot on tomorrow.

I would like to use a loose gauge to assure the tensions are even and within the proper range.

Maybe the rigger will call me back.
He told me the shrouds will wear faster if they are too loose. Essentially because there is more movement being applied at the connection points.

 

Sounds like you're not totally comfortable that it's centered; you can fix that by making a simple plumb bob to check it.  Tie a washer to a string and tape the other end of the string to your mast.  Do this fore/aft and side/side.  But remember your boat may list slightly if it's in the water (mine does).

[Stu Jackson]

The old one came off in one piece but it is very weathered and been in use since 2009.
I may use spartite in the future, but for now, i had the new boot already sitting on the boat.

Thanks everyone for your input!

Many of us have made Sunbrella covers for the boot.  My boot is OEM 1986, still there under the Sunbrella.

[Joesboat]

The old one came off in one piece but it is very weathered and been in use since 2009.
I may use spartite in the future, but for now, i had the new boot already sitting on the boat.

Thanks everyone for your input!

Many of us have made Sunbrella covers for the boot.  My boot is OEM 1986, still there under the Sunbrella.

Thats a great idea!

[Jon W]

and you don't have to take it off to sail.