Ideas wanted on mast repair

[scoutabout]

I picked up a cheap little dinghy last year ($350 including trailer!) and have been having a blast with it. It's called a Petrel, is 12 feet long, built in Toronto (probably circa mid 1970s I'm thinking -- I'm trying to track down more info). Also, it's all aluminum, which is an interesting twist.

Anyway, as you can imagine for that money, she's pretty scruffy up close but I'm slowly starting to tackle various issues, one of them illustrated in the pics below.

You can see the plastic housing through which my mainsail halyard runs is disintegrating. Probably from UV exposure. If you even touch the stuff it starts to crumble.

Any ideas on how to fix this? You can see the mast cap is riveted on, which isn't a big deal but I've got no idea how this part is fastened to the cap or if it even comes apart.

Ideas welcome!

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

Huh -- just found out it was designed by none other than the legendary Philip L. Rhodes. (1962 12 Meter America's Cup winner, Weatherly, etc. etc.) I knew I liked her lines!

Hard to tell in the pics but there's a graceful turn to the bow just where she cuts the water and a nice sweep to the sheerline. They are very subtle touches and not at all what I'd expect from a little tin dinghy of anonymous parentage. Anyway, ideas on that mast most appreciated...

 

[skibrain]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

Whatever the repair, you need a low-friction guide for the halyard to run in. The top of the "tube" is obviously falling apart. is the bottom that the line runs in also bad? Maybe break off what's left on top and add a series of 2-3 "fairleads" that could keep it in the existing track.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...L=true&storeNum=2&subdeptNum=323&classNum=340

Not real pretty but pretty cheap.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

Great idea -- skibrain. The inside part of the tube supporting the halyard is intact and smooth. If I go the fix versus replace route I just need something to keep the line from jamming in the cracks on top or coming off the mast altogether.

I think that plan of breaking those top pieces away and screwing some fairleads in is a good one. Sure, it ain't pretty but will do for now. As my wife's farmer grandfather would say -- "It don't hurt the runnin' of it none..."

 

[skibrain]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

You might poke around at a place selling sailing hardware and find an even better fix.

The pulley-in-a-casting at the top of the mast must be common to many small boats. If you knew the inside diameter of the mast (drill out the rivets) you might source an existing part, new or used. I'd hate to recommend a fix that doubles your investment in the boat

Good luck

 

[RICHARD5]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

Just rivet a SS fairlead to the casting. Either one at the top of the block or two, one each at the inhaul and the outhaul. I bet if you scour the chandlery you could find something for your application.

Yeah, Petrel is a Rhoades design. Very cool for you!

 

[moorecomp]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

Judging from the pictures, I would say you have enough room to just mount a 2" dia. pulley on either side of the mast. As long as the head of the mainsail is below the pulley far enough, it won't matter that it is to the side.

Craig Moore
Mancelona, MI

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

...I'd hate to recommend a fix that doubles your investment in the boat

Good luck

LOL - the same thought has been keeping me from ordering a custom tonneau cover so that I can keep it in the water all summer. That would easily triple the investment!

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

...Yeah, Petrel is a Rhoades design. Very cool for you!

Also found the following reference in an article on him over on Sailnet...

"...His range is amply illustrated by two consecutive designs in 1966 -- a 122-foot three-master for a Rockefeller and a 12-foot aluminum sailing dinghy for mass production..."

That's probably her. Assuming so, now I've got the year and another little piece falls into place. It would also be nice to know where my sail no. (892) falls in the total production.

 

[RICHARD5]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

Also found the following reference in an article on him over on Sailnet...

"...His range is amply illustrated by two consecutive designs in 1966 -- a 122-foot three-master for a Rockefeller and a 12-foot aluminum sailing dinghy for mass production..."

That's probably her. Assuming so, now I've got the year and another little piece falls into place. It would also be nice to know where my sail no. (892) falls in the total production.

Yes, Phillip Rhodes was a prolific designer. I used to race Rhodes 19 and Rhodes 33s. Once I crewed a Swiftsure from Newport Beach, CA to SF Bay. I remember his designs to be narrow in the beam. I fell in love with the 19 and bought one for myself.

Try a search using the HIN right here on iboats. Also, Mystic seems to have archived the Rhodes catalog so they may be a source for more info on your fine boat. I wouldn't count on the vessel's current sail inventory to provide accurate details of the production history of your boat. I know at least two sail lofts supplied sails for the original production lines.

http://library.mysticseaport.org/manuscripts/coll/spcoll080.cfm

I guess you could contact the loft of the sails you have now and start backwards on your search. I just think it would be a wild goose chase leading to a dead end. I could be wrong. (it would be a first)

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

Thanks for those ideas Richard -- I had heard that there was some stuff at Mystic -- it would be fun to find a drawing.

Sounds like you've had some adventures!

As for the HIN, all the transom plate says is Petrel SB-12 (I think - it's pretty weathered) with the same number as the sail stamped into the metal (892). No year or hull-specific number I can see other than that. I wonder if a longer HIN might be somewhere else?

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

Judging from the pictures, I would say you have enough room to just mount a 2" dia. pulley on either side of the mast. As long as the head of the mainsail is below the pulley far enough, it won't matter that it is to the side.

Craig Moore
Mancelona, MI

Thanks for that thought. The sail is actually a good ways down from where it should be. At some point the mast suffered a nice blow that crushed the sailtrack closed just enough that the boom can't be raised as high as it probably should go. Another item on the to-do list!

 

[RICHARD5]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

Thanks for those ideas Richard -- I had heard that there was some stuff at Mystic -- it would be fun to find a drawing.

Sounds like you've had some adventures!

As for the HIN, all the transom plate says is Petrel SB-12 (I think - it's pretty weathered) with the same number as the sail stamped into the metal (892). No year or hull-specific number I can see other than that. I wonder if a longer HIN might be somewhere else?

If it were an airplane it would be unairworthy until the weight of the paperwork equals that of the craft.

Does your title or registration have a number? That might be a place to start. Or search the archives for Long Island Sound newspapers. Yeah, a long shot.

 

[ghamby]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

Consider a length of tubing,replacing the existing one glued into the groove
in the masthead. Nylon reinforced plastic is at the home supply. A nice piece
of stainless or aluminum tubing properly bent and flared at both ends. This would
be an auto parts store item, and would require a tubing bender and flaring
tool.
Two fixed deck mount blocks one facing forward and one facing aft, riveted,
screwed, or bolted to the mast head. This would change the look up there
but the line would run nicely.
http://mauriprosailing.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=MPS&Category_Code=SCHOVER
There would be some bending and grinding involved.
or as suggested polish up the groove and put on a couple of fairleads.
Make them big enough so the line doesn't bind.
Good luck GH

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

I'd agree with those who suggest to stay as close to the original design as possible ~ after all, changing the design of an Americas Cup winner is a bold move....

The mast cap will come off really easily if necessary.....it would probably make the repair a lot easier not to have 16+ feet of mast to play with while you are repairing that fairlead.
If you have any trouble finding the right plastic, let me know and I can send you a chunk. I am in Ottawa and we are blessed with a first class plastic fabricator/supplier. In a similar application I used a piece of LDPE tubing and bored it out slightly to suit. Just about any of the low friction polymers would do....even PVC.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

My continued appreciation for all the suggestions and ideas.

Replies in order:

RICHARDS - unfortunately, no papers of any kind came with the boat. Perhaps a deal-breaker on anything more expensive but I figured I'd deal with the shortcoming later considering the price. I can't remember the name of the sail loft offhand (their trademark seems to be a sylized "R") but perhaps that's a place to start. I don't understand the reference to the newspaper tho.

ghamby, Tim -- the idea of laying something fabricated into that groove seems like it might not be that difficult after reading your suggestions. Tim, I'd be most grateful for a piece of that super-duper tubing if I can't find any. I'll try to get out this weekend for a poke around.

 

[RICHARD5]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

I suggested the newspaper archives because they can be a source of historical information. I suggested LI because IIRC, there was class racing on the sound with the Petrel. And Rhodes' designs were popular in that area, right?

I think you've gotten some good ideas here so that's why I stayed with the archiving end of it.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

Ah -- got it. Didn't know there was class racing for the Petrel. Thanks!

 

[tommays]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

http://www.dwyermast.com/default.asp

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Ideas wanted on mast repair

Awesome find -- thanks!