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Blog EntrySep 20, '11 11:27 PM
by Peter for everyone

Hi,

On my '76 Ballad I have a mast and boom made in Germany from "VDM"

I bought the boat with the mast down, and am missing whatever pieces needed to connect the two together. If this was a roller reefing boom, which I suspect it is, then it probably involves some sort of crank handle. The mainsail has slab reefing, which I much prefer, so maybe I just need a bolt through the mast held in with a pin at the boom.

 

Any ideas or explanations are welcome.

Thanks!

 

 

Peter

#1085 'Bannath'

Victoria B.C. Canada.


patentnick wrote on Sep 21, '11
Hi Peter:

I don't know where you can find the specific bolt. But since you have a slab-reefing mainsail, maybe you could get a more modern attachment for your boom that comes complete with ram's horns for the tack of the sail.

N.
cpgpenn wrote on Sep 21, '11
Hi Peter.

This looks identical to my set-up, but my Boom end is stamped "Ambau".

Yes, the system was a roller reefing one. Accordingly, there is a (large) drilling through the mast through which a shaft passes. A S/S bar would be a perfectly adequate substitute.

From what I can recall, (the boat is remote from home) the previous owner simply turned the handle at the other end of the shaft around, drilled a hole lower down on the mast and passed the handle through that.

Not an ideal approach, but the (slight) dividend was to use the crank assemble as the flange for the end of the shaft at the front of the mast.

You'd be better off with either a stailnless rod (or possibly a thick-wall stainless tube) held together with roll pins.

Hope you get this and I'd be interested to see photos of your mast. If it doesn't otherwise come over, my e-mail address is cpgpenn@hotmail.co.uk

I copy my inclusions to Jesper Milling in Denmark, by the way.

As I've mentioned, I've regarded the changes pre-dating my ownership as unsatisfactory, but the assembly has resisted my half-hearted effort to interrogate it.

All the best.

Colin Penn
cpgpenn wrote on Sep 21, '11
Hi Peter,

On second thoughts, one of the the photographs of "Littlebit's" Newfoundland cruise show the mast set up fairly clearly.

In fact this photo shows the handle at the front of the mast not turned around (as I described) but (somehow) inserted into the hole in the mast. As I said, though, on my boat this has always resisted my effort to explore the workings in detail, but since "Littlebit" is still operating roller reefing, perhaps her owner can describe what's involved?
jtighe wrote on Sep 21, '11
Hi Peter,

The boom is roller reefing. It seems you're missing the crank assembly, which consists of a stainless rod, an aluminum crank and a stainless handle that slides into the lower hole you see in your mast. Although Littlebit still has this assembly, I don't actually use it for reefing. I've converted to slab reefing, which is way better in my opinion. I do use the furler for sail storage, however, and that's nicer than lazy jacks and the like.

I've posted three photos titled "roller reefing assembly" in the photos section of this site. One is a picture from Littlebit, and the other two are diagrams. The first diagram is of the actual roller reefing crank in case you want to fabricate one. The other is a proposed solution to your problem: weld a stainless rod to your boom, cut the rod flush with the mast on the other side once the boom is in place, tap a thread into the rod, and assemble a bolt with some oversized fender washers into the thread. Your boom is now in place.

Good luck with your ongoing project.

Joe
prjacobs wrote on Sep 21, '11
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I like the "bolt through the mast" approach as it's very simple and should work well. But Nicholas solution of a new attachment to the mast with reefing hooks has me thinking ... time to look on the Rig-Rite website.
Cheers,
Peter.
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