Help with fixing a 1980 SouthCoast Explorer 20' Sloop

[Zavala]

Brent, what's holding up the back of the boat? She looks like she's floating in the air!

Is there an attachment point for your main sheet somewhere in the cockpit? A traveler of any sort?

I had to reverse my mainsheet setup and add an extra boom bail in order to add an Oxen auto cleating ratchet block. It makes mainsheet handling incredibly easy -- it cleats off the line as you take in slack. A small tug then lets the line out freely again. The only place I could find the block was APS, and it's expensive -- but well worth it.

As for the rest of your deck hardware, check the Harken's Store's close outs and watch eBay. If you're not in a hurry, you should be able to find most anything for a discounted price.

[argonaut]

Nice project boat! Good lines. Where'd the holes come from?
There are lots of online descriptions of mast raising tackle, but as DLT mentions a number of us have modified our existing boompoles with a trailer winch.
That done I can now simply crank up my mast single handed, stopping anywhere along the way to walk over and clear a snagged shroud if I need to and it goes up lickity split. It's awesome. If you look at the cost of fitting a $40-50 trailer winch to a boompole -vs- buying a set of 4:1 blocks for $100 it even makes sense from a cost standpoint. If you have a vang already with enough line that'd work too. You could also make what we call baby stays that keep the mast from falling sideways while raising, they don't have to be permanent. Better safe than bent. Problem using the boom is when you put her down you have to remove the sail first... more work.

Walking even a light mast up the roof is no fun even on smaller boats and you want to sail, not spend six weeks at your chiropractor. Take a look at this link as their technique it to raise the tip of the mast from the cockpit first with an extendable crutch then move forward and use the forestay to pull it the rest of the way.
Mast raising techniques
I had a time with my old V17 because the hatch interfered with the mast while I trying to get the pin in. The taller crutch takes care of that by getting a good angle from the start and looks doable single handed.

My vote would be with DLT to make a boompole w/winch & maybe baby stays. It's a bit more than needed but you r back's worth it. Besides, you have all winter! Good luck.

Hey Mark, that Montego was a sharp little boat! Did you kick it to the curb for your Mac?

[Frank C]

For Brent (maybe Stephen too): In the event you don't want to simply lift the pole with a halyard in backup mode ... anyone can create a mast raising rig for less cost than the factory system (> $100). I mostly followed Eric's suggestions, as earlier linked by DLT, revising only slightly.

Get an aluminum pole about 5 feet long (~$20), a basic 2-way winch (~$30), plus a boom bail (~$20) about 5' up the front of the mast. The aluminum pole must be pretty beefy - the factory pole is 3/16ths wall-thickness, maybe even .25" and it needs that stiffness. You must fabricate a good, wide, stable foot to attach it to the mast step. And you should tether the mast with babystays, from the boom bail down to the side decks or stanchion bases to prevent it from swinging off to either side.

My winch came with a 12-foot nylon strap that nicely positions the pole at ~ 60 degrees elevation off the bow. I simply tether it to the deck and crank the winch - the mast rises safely, one click at a time. If I didn't have the factory babystays, I'd just rig some low-stretch, 1/4" line to just fit-to-length from bail to stanchions. Dual-functions in mind, I figure the new boom bail (at the babystays bolt) will also serve to anchor a whisker pole.

FWIW, I think the gigantic triangular lifting rig they're selling for $185 is vast overkill, too much gear to stow, just too much~! (see argonaut's link) A simple gin pole is ample for the lifting and babystays are fine for sideways stability.

[Frank C]

Frank - I do have a RF genny which is a PITA when you are single handed stepping...but the tricks I use with this are keeping a low sailtie on the mast so it doesnt slip off

Got it. My RF simply does not stay centered atop the horizontal mast very well. Even with bungees to hold it just below the mast light, it's upper half is heavy enough to hang down to either side & complicate the process, even WITH the factory mast raising system. I adapted WM's smallest winch onto the factory gin pole (as above), which helps immensely.

....I received my lifelong membership card in the Geek Squad when, in 1985, after a long night in the lab with flashing lasers, I was crossing the Arts Quad, a Victoria Secret Model stopped, got off her bike, and tore off her clothes, and said "You can take whatever you want" I took her bike as her clothes wouldnt have fit me.

The constant exposure to laser vectors undoubtedly destroyed your depth perception & perspective on curves - and obviously impaired your judgment about life's finer things ....
(those Vickie fashions could have been used many other ways!)


Careful there MeMine - in the recent spirit of bi-partisanship, you're getting the topics confused
(never admit to more than necessary to make the current debating point!)

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

*Edited* Well, my post doesn't apply anymore since Me Mine took that other pic off!

I feel like this [*url=http://www2.victoriassecret.com/fashion ... _play.html] movie picture[/url] should be posted in this thread to make it right...
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[DLT]

Pulpit