Installing Achor/Tricolor Light

The weather has been foul, but got a break from the rain this weekend which means that I can finally paint and bed my anchor light.

I bought the unit several weeks ago from Ahoy Captain. Its a fancy LED Lopolight. Because of its low profile, I couldn't install it directly onto the mast as the top of the mast would obscures the view from nearby traffic. I made some sketches of a riser mount and took them into TAP Plastics to get it fabricated. Unfortunately, they only work with plastic sheet and don't have material thick enough to provide sufficient height for the riser. Several sheets can be glued together, but UV-resistant type of plastic (polyethylene) doesn't not bond well. Basically, I ran out of options with them and took it to a local machine shop (who also enlarged one of the bushing on my sheaves that were made too small).

They have a CNC lathe and knocked out the piece in a aluminium couple of hours. Fine job. I wanted to get it hard anodized but couldn't get this done in time for the weekend, so I prepped it with aluminium primer, a coat of epoxy paint and a coat of gloss. Turned out nice.

The unit's pretty lightweight and is extremely secure -- the screws I drilled into the mast are blocked from unscrewing out by the light itself. Pretty pleased with it if I do say myself.

 

 

 

 

I also replaced the masthead fly this weekend. While I was working on the sheaves, I stood up and snapped the tail off the old one. Bah! New one was snap to install though, and the tricolor should let my see which way the wind is coming at night.

Lucky Coins: Do Not Remove!

During the property boom of the 80's, our family upped sticks and moved from Birmingham into a big old house in the Malvern Hills. My parents had bought a fixer upper. Dad had quit his job to work on the house. At some point during the renovation he and his friend Vic, a court judge, were working in the attic putting down insulation and laying boards. Vic found an old coin nailed into one of the roof joists which he pulled out, presumably so he could get a good look at it.

Traditional is, when building a house, to nail a coin into the rafters for luck. Whether or not I believe this I don't know, but I'll tell you that within a two weeks Vic was dead. He died from a heart attack.

Which bring me to today's projects. Repainting the mast step and installing new masthead sheaves. Metal masts have plenty of holes allowing water and dirt wash down the inside. Water pours out through weep holes in the bottom, but inevitably dirt and all sorts of gunk collect in the mast step. So, while digging out the gunk, what should I find but an old coin. A 1967 quarter encased in sealant and glued to the mast step:

My boat was built in 1982. The Newport 41 owner's list however shows models dating back to 1969 -- I expect 1967 is the year Capital Yatchs was founded.

After a cleanup, prep and a new lick of paint on the step, I was careful to put the coin back just where I found it.

 
 

Wendy and I also installed the new masthead sheaves. It was pouring with rain, but the yard are waiting on this to put the mast back in, so it can't wait. Wendy's such a trooper.