Poor mast care in Clyde marinas

[Jcorstorphine]

Whilst not always found in a classic yacht, , I am horrified at the total lack of care in terms of customers masts I see, every time I walk round several of the Clyde Marinas. In particular, the treatment meated out to what are very expensive jib furling gear. Today was the last straw, I witnessed a 40 foot long mast with its associated furling gear badly supported as usual, but this time with the joint just above the furling drum being laid across one of the few supports with the result that the joint was beginning to open up due to the weight of the drum. Come on Marinas, this cavalier attitude to the property of the people who keep you in a living is just not good enough, start to take ownership of your responsibilities.

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[penfold]

I'm afraid this is endemic; as long as marinas and boatyards, not just on the Clyde, continue to pay only lip service to raising and maintaining the quality of their services this kind of thing will remain commonplace. The boatyard on the west coast of Scotland I worked in (it will remain nameless to protect the guilty) for six months a couple of summers ago was the same; furling gear unsupported and dragged along the ground collecting dirt and grit along with the rest of the rigging. The main stumbling block where I worked was low pay; pay peanuts and you get monkeys. That along with pisspoor management, inadequate equipment and poor working conditions (although to be fair, much better conditions than some yards I've come across) mean that the ISO 9000 accreditation, like you see everywhere these days, isn't worth the paper it's written on. However, having ranted a little, I should point out that most furlers are actually meant to flex a fair amount, although probably not to the degree indicated.

cheers.

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[ianwright]

Yup, same everywere.
That's why I'm there when the boat comes out and again when it goes back in. I'ts my boat,,, I care more than they do, much more.

IanW

<hr width=100% size=1>Vertue 203, Patience