You know those days that as soon as one thing goes wrong it all starts spiraling down hill? Well I had one of those days today.
I just bought my HC 18 a few weeks back and when the guy I bought it off of was taking down the mast the last time he dropped it and broke the pulley off the end. He gave me 40 bucks and said it could be welded for about 30 bucks. I tried to get it welded back on but it is white metal so they couldn't weld it. I then tried to order the part. Its no longer in stock anywhere. So I JB Welded it back on and it has held up for 2 or 3 days of sailing so far.
So today I went out to the lake, it was a perfect day for sailing. I have been waiting for a day like this for a couple weeks now. We rigged the boat and launched with no problems until we tried to raise the main. The ring just would not catch on the hook. We kept pulling and pulling and trying to go to irons and moving the sail and the ring would not catch. Finally the JB weld gave way. There goes that day of sailing. So we use the 3/4 raised main to try to make it back to shore. Well because the sail was not all the way up it starts flapping and out flies a 40 dollar baton (which sinks).
So my question for everyone is... Firstly, How to I get the ring on the hook easier? Should I invest in a aussy halyard ring or is it just about finding the right angle? Second, how should I repair my mast tip so it wont break again? JB weld alone just isnt cutting it... I was thinking about riveting L braces and flat braces to the tip in addition to JB weld....
I hate missing out on perfect days of sailing! I would appreciate any help I can get to make sure this doesn't happen again.