|
Building
a Mast Stepper System |
|
|
|
|
|
Materials:
For a total list click here. (Not shown: 1/8" coated
cable, 2- 2 1/2" stainless 1/4 inch bolts with flat washers
and nylock nuts used to fasten the straps to the mast gin
pole block) |
Constructing
the end blocks for the Gin Pole:
I
started with a 4' piece of 1x6 oak. ($13) I wanted hardwood
for durability, but pine would have worked I guess. I tend
to over engineer and overbuild, but prefer to avoid problems
down the road if I can. I cut the 1x into 1x6x6" blocks,
then glued and clamped them to create two solid 3x6x6"
blocks, with a 12 inch piece leftover for the next project!
|
|
|
Rough
Cut and Drilled Blocks:
Photo
showing the mast block cuts. The groove routed in the side
edges will accomodate the mast securing strap I added later.
The other uncut block (the winch strap block) shows the 1"
hole to accomodate the 6' galvanized iron pipe used for the
gin pole. You can also see here the 3/8" dowel pins I
glued though the blocks for added strength. The $100 I saved
building this myself over buying a prebuilt system, paid for
my $99 drill press from Lowes!
|
Drilling
the Belt Slot in the Mast Block:
First
I drilled two 3/8 inch holes about midway up the blocks, 1-1/2
from the edge. These will accomodate the 1/4" bolts which
will pass through the strap loops. Then, I flipped the blocks
on edge, and drilled a series of overlapping 5/16" inch
holes to create a slot through which to pass the strap loop.
I smoothed this as best I could using a Dremel tool with a
grinding bit and sand paper. |
|
|
Drilling
the Belt Slot (View 2):
"Ok",
you might say," a lot of work!" Well..I like a project.
Plus, the total cost is right at $60 for the system, and I
went way out. You could do it a lot cheaper, I just like to
do it right. Plus, I got to buy a new power tool and justify
the cost to my wife! Not to mention make all those trips to
one of my favorite places, the hardware store! |
Drilling
the Belt Slot (View 3):
One
more shot from the side. So far I've probably got about 2
hours of actual work in the project, and about 30 hours of
admiring my handy work, drinking beer, smoking cigarettes,
and patting myself on the back while beaming with pride that
I had actually glued myself up a block of wood and cut holes
in it. I would proudly bring it into the house every twenty
minutes or so after each mark, cut and hole to show my wife.
"Yes honey, that's a nice block of wood you've made,
are we going for Mexican now?". Wives can be so suportive.
|
|
|
Attaching
the Strap to the Mast Block:
Here's
where I had to get a little creative. I decided to use 6'
motorcycle tie-down straps for all my strapping needs. They
were available in a 4 pack from Lowes for $9. |
Attaching
the Strap to the Mast Block (View 2):
That
gave me one to modify and attach to the mast block above;
two to modify by sewing in a 2 inch ring, to attach to the
front corner castings at the front beam for attaching the
mast shrouds and gin pole support lines; and one for tying
the wife to the bed later! I'll show her a block of wood.....
;)
|
|
|
Attaching
the Mast Block to the Mast:
Fits
like a glove, and very secure. I'm thinking of adding a thin
sheet of rubber to the contour cut to further protect the
mast from any possible abrasions.
Next
I started on the uppermost block on the gin pole. This one would
simply be notched with a square the width of the winch belt
(approximately 2"). However, I was suddenly smacked with
another stroke of genius!!! |
Creating
the Winch Belt Block: (above right)
When I sat the blocks up for this photo, I had sat the semi-cirlcle
cut out from the mast block on top of the wood blank for the
winch block. I decided to glue this arch into the belt notch
so as to spread the load out over a wider area of the belt,
and provide a smooth, rolling surface when winching the mast.
Plus, I got to impress my wife once more with my engineering
brilliance and artful carpentry skills...."LOOK BABE!"........."That's
a nice block of wood honey......are those the same socks you
were wearing yesterday?"
|
|
|
Gluing
the Arch into the Winch Belt Block:
OK,
what idiot came up with this idea?? Cutting the notch wasn't
so bad using the table saw. I did this prior to beer-thirty,
as fingers are good things to have. ( I work with a guy who
can count to one hundred by nines, very fast, while flashing
his nine digits...he lost one in a poker game but that's another
story. It's quite impressive to see him do it, but not enough
that I care to learn it just now! )
|
Gluing
the Belt Block (View 2):
I
applied liberal amounts of Elmers wood glue, and hammered
the litle gooey, gummy wedge into it's little notch. I know
from watching a couple of episodes of "New Yankee Workshop"
that a real craftsman has a nice tight fit with no cracks.
"Damn..the bottom of that notch sure looked smooth and
even??" Panic set in. Quick before the glue dries you
imbecil! After hurriedly knocking out the block, and dashing
to the kitchen to wash off the glue amid mumbled cursing....my
wife suddenly has taken an interest....."Measure twice,
cut once!' Where'd I put that rubber mallet?? After it all
dried, I filed the bottome of the notch nice and even, re-glued,
reclamped, and Voila`
|
|
|
Making
the Ring Straps:
To
modify the two straps for the corner castings, I cut the hooks
off of each end and used only the remaining piece of strap
and the spring clasp. I looped one end of the strap through
the slotted rear end of the clasp, and my dear, sweet wife
stitched it very well. I then took approximately 8" of
the strap (Chelle says 4, but I'm not bragging here, so trust
me, it's 8) and looped it through a 2 inch stainless ring
and sewed it back on itself. (see closeup of photo above)
We then laid this over the clasp strap section, and sewed
well through the 3 layers, then passed the long tail of strap
back through the ring. So looking at the underside in the
photo above, you'd simply flip it over, and attach it to the
boat so the shroud lines would pull the ring into the loop,
not towards the stitching. It is very secure and strong once
it's sinched on the corner casting. |
MORE
TO FOLLOW AS WORK PROGRESSES AND I HAVE TIME TO PUT IT UP
HERE!
The
link above to the list of materials isn't working yet because...well
because I haven't written it up yet. Be patient Grasshopper.
Ken
10/17/2003 |
|