Mast Raising

Finally, we are installing the most important component of the Goden Wind, the mast. We had some time for a few improvements on it as well. In the past we have used fabric tape to protect the sails from the sharp ends of the split pins. This works if the tape is reapplied every year but can wear off quickly under heavy use and has, from time to time, lead to a tear in the sail. Looking for a more durable solution Hauke was, fortunately, able to put his CAD skills to use and design some parts to go on to the stay bolts.

With the help of a 3D printer, Hauke could quickly turn these ideas in to reality and test them out. Of course traditional 3D-printing materials are brittle and fragile, so they would not be very useful for such an application.

So, he chose a flexible, abrasion resistant and UV stable filament based on the wonder material polyurethane, thermoplastic polyurethane or TPU. This material is pretty incredible as it can withstand being stretched to 5 times its original size before breaking and can take a real beating.

Before putting it into its correct position, we wanted to spruce up the interior part of the mast a little bit and sanded down the teak veneer, so we can give it a new coat of finish inside.

While putting away our mast last winter, the marina staff unfortunately crushed our deck lamp. Not a big worry, since it was already rather brittle and missing a cover. Not wanting to go for a standard one which often cost over 100€ and would probably require drilling new holes into the mast, we took instead a 5€ 12V LED floodlight from eBay and a little bit of aluminium to see what we could make. Using some pliers and a drill we made a new attachment for the lamp fitting into the old holes.

Apart from the upgrades there was the usual rigging up that needs to be done, such as attaching the stays, wings and mast top devices. Not an easy task to get everything lined up and bolted together the right way without any twists.

With the mast all rigged up, we pushed it over to the crane where we had to crank it up by hand, all 350 kg of it. With the mast almost on we realize the boat is the wrong way around and have to turn it (no need for a motor) at the quayside. Everything slotted in perfectly, and now we just needed a boom and some sails before we can go sailing!

We got the mast up just in time for a small heat wave and took advantage of it to enjoy a small trip out to the Baltic in shorts and t-shirts.