Taking Lines Aft on a Pilot-house Sailboat

First the mast section was measured and a collar drawn up, taking into account where halyards and other lines would lead from and to.  It was determined that the collar would fit about 18" up the mast at approximately the height of the pilothouse roof.

The lines will go back from the mast through deck organizers located either side at the front of the pilothouse roof.  This arrangement keeps the lines clear of (i.e. above) the front pilothouse windows to prevent any loss of visibility from the inside helm position.  The V-shaped angle of the lines going aft to either side from the mast also allows clearance for the bottom end of the boom vang (kicker) tackle so that it does not foul the lines when running downwind (when the boom is over to one side).

The mast collar attaches, using stainless steel machine screws, to the back of and the either side of the mast.

The collar is formed from 1/2" (12.7mm) diameter 316 stainless steel rod.  This is quite economical.  This was bent around 1/2" blocks taped to the actual mast to give the required offset.  The blocks protect the aluminium while bending the bar.  Quite a lot of force is needed.  It's best to buy overlength bar to get some leverage.  I also used 2 tubular windlass handles to get extra leverage.

When the required shape is formed, trim to the size required.  The fiting plates are then cut as required.  I used 1/4" 316 stainless flat bar for the side plates and 1/8" flat for the rear plate. 

These were drilled to create fixing holes (5/16") and the holes for the 1/2" rod legs.

Next cut the support legs to the required length (it's useful to create a jig from a carboard box, or similar)  (See photo 1).

Next cut several small (1/2" approx.) lengths of 1/2" bar to create the turning block location lugs.  Space these around the mast collar as required.  More is better than too few and gives more flexibility when adding turning blocks. 

Clean everything up, ready for welding.

Not many people have their own welding gear for stainless steel.  A tig welder is usually the best option.  So I got my mast collar assembly welded up by Jonathan Blanchard of Blanchard Rigging, at Westport Marina, Sidney, BC.  He did a great neat job and it was nicely cleaned up after the welding!  Ready to fit.

This was then brought back to the boat and fitted by drilling and tapping the mast.  Care was taken to isolate the Stainless steel from the aluminum (aluminium) mast using neoprene pads and sikaflex to reduce the likelihood of bi-metallic corrosion of the aluminum.  (See Photo 2).

In the meantime, holes have been cut out and PVC UV-protected conduit tubing fibreglassed into the front angled cockpit coaming so that the lines come back neatly to the cockpit.  Epoxy was used to create a nice tight waterproof seal.  (See photos 3, 4 and 5).  

A word of warning here:  Spend a long time considering and working out the position of any holes.  You only want to make these big holes for the tubes once, and in the right position so that everything lines up perfectly.

A couple of self-tailing winches and rope clutches were added to finish the job.  The core was filled solid to prevent crushing and backing plates used to spread the load for these high-load items.    (See Photo 6)

This Cooper 353 is now much easier, more enjoyable and safer to sail.  (See Photos 7 and 8)

All the lines, rope clutches and winches are ergonomically positioned to allow easy access and full operation.  

The photos show just the main halyard and the boom vang/kicker lines coming back from the mast on the starboard side. There is space for 2 further lines and plans for 2 more.   A similar process is underway to bring up to 4 additional lines back on the Port side.  (Headsail halyard, reefing, etc.)  With the new mast collar and all the holes on place, the boat is now ready for future improvements.

Note also new hard dodger.  After all it DOES rain here in the Pacific North West.

Copyright MAAston 2009.