Masthead work

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Sailing newbie selsey

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I am looking for someone to fit a wireless mast head wind unit to the top of my mast and also replace the arrow on my wind indicator, I have a bits needed for the job, also have a mast ladder and a top climber to get up the mast. Due to an injury I can not climb the mast myself. It will be a simple four screws in the mast and slip on the new indicator arrow over the Ariel. The boat is a stag 28, 8.5m LOA, my boat is being put back in the water early Saturday morning and will be on the pontoons at Marchwood yacht club over the weekend, happy to pay the going rate for the work to be done, can anyone help please.
 
Send me an air ticket and cover local transportation and accomodation - I'm happy to help. Because of our current weather it would be nice to work in the sun. :)

Don't worry - someone will turn up.

Jonathan
 
A rigger will do it, but at a cost which may seem eyewatering, but when you cost his time to get there, set up, five minutes for the work, pack up and on to the next job, he probably isn't going to get rich. If you can find one who's coming there anyway, it's likely to be a good bit cheaper.

I'm not volunteering - far too old and far too much of a coward for mast work!
 
Try your local rock climbing club and a case of beer.

Jonathan

Alternatively - try lateral thinking.

I don't know your location. Is there a high seawall you can moor against, dry out, short ladder. Similarly bridge. Someone with a larger yacht and a less intimidating mast (ie beefier) that you can use to access the top of yours. How much does a cherry picker cost (I suspect a slab of beer might be cheaper).

J
 
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Best solution by far is Lallows in Cowes who have a cherry picker. Approx £35 per half hour - ask for Chris - immesely helpful.
 
I am happy to work on a mast, but it can be harder the smaller the boat. In spite of the extra height, a larger boat will be steadier, and also have stronger running gear. Whether it is a simple job depends on the arrangement at the top. It may be very hard to get high enough to see where one is working, and drilling four holes precisely might well be challenging. It can certainly be done, but would have been much easier with the mast down, and this could still be the best and possibly cheaper option.
 
1. Its not just 4 screws into mast ... needs to be sorted to avoid electrolytic action (dissimilar metals).
2. Having tried working at top of mast - its hard !! as you have difficulty stopping yourself from moving about - especially on a smaller boat.

Attached are photos where I used the crane that was ordered for launching the boat ..... so I'm not just talking without experiencing !!

Mast ladders / climbers are OK for servicing gear up there - but installing gear ? Not so easy.

Best really is unstep mast - do the job properly. That's my honest opinion.
 

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It is possible to raise yourself above the masthead (but I'm not allowed to cite an example!).
I have drilled holes in the masthead box and soldered there (not advised in a wind!).

You need a belt round you and the mast - that will free up both hands. If you can find something to stand on (ahem!), that will stop your legs going numb. I've spent five hours on one job and survived.
 
I have also drilled holes etc at the top of the mast. Before drilling I surround the area I'm about to drill into with duck tape, sticky side towards the future hole, in order to catch a much swarf as possible.

I also mentioned the wind direction replacement in a previous thread in that you can pull the top of the wire antenna over to one side in order to slot the indicator over the top. Two screws will probably also need loosening though in order to slacken off the close hauled indicators which fit over the directional arm to hold it in place. They can be fiddly because they're small screws with a wide slot (from memory).

If it's the NASA wireless wind, then perhaps it just needs two screws in the side of the mast rather than on the head box itself and the wind MHU arm is clamped between the plastic mouldings.


Screenshot_20220511-140218_Samsung Internet.jpg
 
To the original poster... Saturday is looking nice so I might be out sailing... Sunday night be a possibility for a trip up the mast though.. I do know Marchwood Yacht Club after having kept a boat at Cracknore Hard (half a mile downstream from MYC) for a number of years. In answer to one of your other posts, I used to move the boat to Southsea Marina (Langstone marina at the time) just for the cheap winter deals. About twenty years ago I just didn't get around to moving back to Cracknore Hard in the spring and have been in Southsea ever since..
 
That bit I mentioned about loosening off two screws (part #4 below).. They're the ones under the direction arms.. and from the diagram below you can see how the direction arms clamp over the top of the moving arm to keep it in place. Both screws need loosening in order to lift part 2 out of the way and let the wider part of the moving arm sit underneath.

Vtronix Hawk Antenna.png
 
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