Paloma Mast Refitted

August 24, 2023

Today there was a slot available at the boat lift at Shamrock Quay for Paloma to have her mast restepped. It was removed two years ago and stored on a mast rack at Seatons Marina until I loaded it onto the trailer when I purchased the boat in July. Other than being checked over the mast had been sitting on the rack ever since. The restepping was cancelled during the boat’s transition from trailer to berth two weeks ago when we ran into some snags, which Cameron and Glyn at VMG Rigging have been working through for me. I met them when I arrived with Paloma at the marina, knocking on the door of his office at Shamrock Quay when we ran into our refitting problem, but he’s been unfailingly helpful and thanfully prioritises keeping his customers updated and keeping to agreed dates over the other challenges of running a small business. Cameron said that the frustrations of working with a van-based rigger as a boat owner lay behind setting the business up. It is very handy to have them onsite.

When I arrived , I was pleased to find the initial refitting completed and Glyn working out how to best attach the roller furler for the jib, which is new and of a different design, not easy to accommodate because the shackle for it is located inside the chain locker at the very front of the boat. Another new addition was a new wind sensor from Digital Yacht, FedEx’d to me two days previously. I don’t think I will need many instruments for day sailing but this should work with the electronics I have inherited and it makes sense to have it fitted before the mast goes back on.

There are now cables in the mast for the navigation lights, the VHF aerial, and the wind sensor. I hope to reopen cable runs filled with mastic during the refit on my next visit.

I also lifted the outboard motor from the transom and transferred it to a stand I’ve made so that I can clean out the carburettor and fuel lines at home. It is a Suzuki D6 with an unknown number of hours on it, apparently manufactured in 2003. Getting it off the boat on my own is no mean feat, I tie a line around it and hitch a loop over my shoulder in case it tries to slip into the water but it needs a second pair of hands ideally to get it into the trolley on the pontoon. I don’t think it has been stored with petrol in it but I could only get it to run for a minute or two after a top up with fresh fuel and a check on the oil level.

Finally for this visit I refitted the gymbaled two-ring gas cooker back into the galley after a thorough clean although I won’t be able to use it until I have sorted out a new gas storage locker. I decided to leave the sails (four of them, in bags) in the front cabin for next time after Cameron has finished off his remaining work on the running rigging. I could sleep on Paloma at this point but there’s no lighting other than my headtorch… I need to work out the best place for a heavy battery to be fitted from a safety and centre of gravity perspective…