will it all come tumbling down? removing mainsail roller reefing

[chubby]

25 year old barbary ketch with bamar reefing retro fitted to a sparlight mast, getting stiffer by the season, I had decided to take it all off in the winter and go back to slab reefing expecting better performance and more reliability....visits to various sailmakers at SIBS produced quotes up to 1K for a sail depending on reefing points and battens etc, so far so good, my local sailmaker / rigger has looked at the mast and said that removing the bamar will leave lots of holes, especially at the gooseneck where there are 5 rivets per side and has been re drilled at least once: will all these holes weaken the mast even if filled with rivets, do I need a new mast: another 2-4K as I will end up replacing lights etc, a little job escalates in price and complexity..is it worth it, will I get benefits..am I worrying too much about the old mast, it seems pretty sturdy to me and I can`t see it falling down for a few holes but I am not a rigger or shall I leave it as is and put up with heaving on the lines from the mast: what do the forumites think, anyone else done this?

 

[pvb]

Getting stiffer by the season...

That's probably a claim a number of forumites would love to be able to make!

I had Bamar reefing fitted to a Westerly Pentland many moons ago, and it worked fine as far as I can recall. It's basically a very simple system, so if yours is getting difficult to operate there has to be a simple reason for it. There's only a couple of bearings, surely? Maybe worth a careful overhaul first - remembering also to check all the turning blocks which the lines run through. You might also put new furling line on it (old line tends to become less supple).

If you do decide to remove it, I'm confident your mast won't fall down. A few holes won't dramatically affect its strength.

 

[chubby]

Re: Getting stiffer by the season...

I can`t make that claim, there are some things even the best rigger can`t help with!

 

[jimi]

BIg_Nick has just done exactly that and it would be interesting to hear what he's got to say. IMHO the mast will be as strong whether or not there's a rivet in the hole. I would'nt worry. Might be worth using then to fit a track for a trisail?

 

[BlueSkyNick]

John,

I have just completed a very similar project. Removed our Kemp behind the mast system, and fitted slab reefing mainsail with stack pack.

There are a number of points to consider.

I found the rigger's estimate for removing the old system to be excessive which made the whole thing cost prohibitive. The mast has to be removed (at an additional cost) which in turn involves wiring, rigging etc. To have it done in situ was even more expensive as it required two riggers working together - at commercial rates.

We did the work ourselves, using my 19yr old son and a mate. Once I had trained them in going aloft in the bosuns chair they were fine - except my son strained his neck muscles by working half way up the mast in a F5, but that's another story!

Our system was fixed to the mast with monel rivets - 40 each side! We used a 10mm drill bit to take the head right off and drill into the furling chassis as far as possible without reaching the mast. I bought a second cordless drill and 3 spare bits, so that the lads always had a fully charged battery and a sharp bit - the monel rivets took the edge off them quite quickly.

It was in 5 sections, each about 8 ft long. We did the bottom one first, to practice the method and to remove the furling spool. It came out very easily, although kinked, and went into the skip. When all the rivets were drilled off, the section remains fixed to the mast as it is 'tongued and grooved' into the mast slot. Also, there are connecting rods between each section.

We had to pry each section away from the mast at the bottom using a couple of screwdrivers - not ideal as it scores the mast, but this will polish out when I get round to it! Then by a to-and-fro motion, the connecting rods eventually snapped. For the upper sections, once it was loose, we drilled a hole and shackled on the topping lift (the boom already having been removed) to lower it down to deck level.

The whole job took about 12 hours, and I still have yet to refil the old holes. These are not a concern, and a couple of professionals whose opinion I trust have said much the same. I plan to use plain aluminium rivets as they are not load-bearing. There are 8 each side of the gooseneck.

A secondary problem was that the mast light cable had been through the furler, and it had to be re-fed through the mast itself - wee jimi had a go at this but there were complications at the top of the mast - I got it sorted at a second attempt though.

We did it as described above, because I wanted the work completed between two particular weekends in August. With more time available, it would have been easier to pay the crane costs, and have the mast flat on the ground. This would have made the removal job easier, plus the riveting, cabling and also to thoroughly polish the mast.

The bottom line is that I extremely pleased with the performance of the new mainsail (and genoa), plus I feel it is a safer solution overall.

I have sailed in a F6 gusting 7, plus crossed the channel in a F5/6, and the mast hasn't broken yet - so I reckon its pretty safe!

Happy to answer more questions here or by PM if you wish.

Good Luck!

(the artist formerly known as bignick)

 

[Lakesailor]

Re: Getting stiffer by the season...

[ QUOTE ]
I can`t make that claim, there are some things even the best rigger can`t help with!

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe she could help .......

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