[quote=tom_gwynn][quote]Anyone got a pix of the original setup or a retro that works?[/quote]
For a fellow 3.5 owner, how can I refuse? For you I brave the dark of night (and overgrown grape vines).
These are pictures of an intact, original 3.5 mast head. The pulley/block is indeed very anemic. It will break sooner or later. I can't show you the mod I did on my original boat's mast because after 20 years in the weather it was in poor shape and I chucked it, intending to make a new one, which I haven't done. But I have included a diagram of what I did.
View of Top:
[IMG]http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/7782/35mastpulleytop.jpg[/IMG]
By [URL=http://profile.imageshack.us/user/tom_gwynn]tom_gwynn[/URL] at 2011-07-09
View of Side:
[IMG]http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7515/35mastpulleyside.jpg[/IMG]
By [URL=http://profile.imageshack.us/user/tom_gwynn]tom_gwynn[/URL] at 2011-07-09
View of Back of Mast:
[IMG]http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/6191/35mastpulleyback.jpg[/IMG]
By [URL=http://profile.imageshack.us/user/tom_gwynn]tom_gwynn[/URL] at 2011-07-09
When my original mast pulley broke I did not try to repair it. My modification was to make a wooden mast extension that fit just inside the aluminum main body of the mast (not the sail track). I made the extension out of several layers of 1" mahogany marine ply glued and bolted together, with 1/4" stainless eyebolt screwed down into the wood and then bent to overhang the sail track. From this eyebolt I hung a small marine pulley/block that the halyard ran through to pull the sail up. The wood was, of course, finished with varnish and epoxied into the main body of the mast. Please note that the extension sits down in the mast a good inch to inch and half, to give the epoxy something to grip. Overall, the extension added about 3 --> 4" to the total length of the mast.
This mod has several advantages. One, it was much stronger than the original and the pulley/block *much* easier to use. It was a real block, not that abomination of engineering that the original sheve was. The other advantage is that the 3.5's mast was just a little shorter than it should have been, and it *needed* the extra length so you could tighten the sail with the Cunningham/downhaul.
If you are a woodworker this should be no problem. All parts you need are available at a local Home Depot. I recommend you use oak or some other dense, stable wood that does not expand or shrink much when it gets wet. If you're not a woodworker and don't know one, let me know and I'll try to describe the process.
[IMG]http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/1236/tommod.gif[/IMG]
By [URL=http://profile.imageshack.us/user/tom_gwynn]tom_gwynn[/URL] at 2011-07-09
Please note you have to seal all this watertight. You do *not* want water in the mast! Every ounce that gets in there makes the boat much harder to right.[/quote]
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