Mast foot

[Andy Kissick]

For my sins, I bought a very cheap boat, Westerley Mk2 I think. Just under sail number 4100. The foredeck had de-laminated completely, so, because I do not intend to race, I cut it away, and replaced it with deck beams and ply. It won’t measure, but it’s ok.

I have a bit of a problem with mast foot location.

I have a new Seldon mast, and a new Seldon alloy adj mast foot track. The mast heel is a tennon, with a mid point cut away for location pin presumably.The trouble is, with the foot track in position, it is not possible to get the pins that act as a  mast stop into place. The tabernacle simply is not wide enough. I suppose I could put the pins at each extreme position, and place a wood stop in the track to keep the heel in one place, but surely, there must be a better solution? Any and all suggestions will be great fully received.

Second plea for help. Can anyone give me a measurement from the transom, at deck height, to the mast heel? At least in that way I can start off with the heel where it should be.

my thanks to anyone who can help

Andrew

 

 

[davdor7038]

Hi Andy,

Normally there’s only one pin in the mast foot which is at the rear.

As you have noticed, the pin can’t be put as far forward as one might like.

So you have to pack out the distance between pin and tenon with a spacer or spacers.

For the last 10 years, I been using euro 2-cent coins held together with some tape. They fit nicely into the Y-channel of the mast foot and gave lasted the 10 years without problem.

When you tension the rig, some mast bend should be introduced, and if the mast rake is set up correctly, the mast heel will be pulled back into contact with the spacers/pin

Normally, there is no forward pin, as rig tension holds the heel aft.  Also, no forward pin means the mast can be lowered easily using the tabernacle pin as a pivot.

Dimensions for the mast and tabernacle can be found under class rules and on the WIC website.

I won’t be near my boat before Sunday. If I think of it, I’ll take that measurement for you, if you haven’t found it in either website already.

Because different builders MK 2’s are likely to be a bit different, the rig setup/tuning guides on this website and the WIC are likely to be more useful with your setup.

Presume your tabernacle is still in the same position, despite the deck work?

davdor

[Tim Jeanneret]

Andy – I use a relatively chunky shackle through my mast foot track, the shackle bolt acting as the pin against the aft edge of the mast heel. Maybe you could do something similar to get around the problem of your pin being too long to get in between the tabernacle sides.

And the loop of the shackle give me a strong attachment point for a control line block (e.g. for kicker)

[Bob Harland]

If a photo could be posted it might help understand the specific arrangement.
Bear in mind that the wayfarer mast is designed to be lowered easily, only 1 pin is required to stop the mast heel  going too far aft – and that is in relation to mast bend. The shrouds and forestay/jib halyard hold the mast upright.

For measurements try Paul Wrens setup guide;

Racing Setup (rig)

Or even just getting the boom at a sensible height for sailing.

There is also a useful setup video by Mark Hartley on youtube – wayfarer rigging guide.

Hope that helps

[Dave Barker]

Hi Bob,

Really sorry that this post got “held up”. As you know, the website has many quirks…

Best wishes,

Dave (W3177)

[AUTHOR]

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