wrote in message
...
On Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:29:36 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

Most sailors take their equipment maintenance very seriously. I know I do.
One place that's infrequently visited is the masthead, and I'm wondering
if
you have any pictures of this vital area of your standing rigging. The
last
time I had someone go aloft (sorry, I'm not interested), I forgot to give
her a camera, so all I have are these pics from the ground:
http://picasaweb.google.com/SailNOW....49224613496610.
(Everything was fine or was when she left, and no, I'm not the guy in the
picture.)

Do you have pictures of your masthead hardware (not scenery, but the
actual
masthead)? How do you know your sheaves are still in good shape? Do you
regularly lubricate them?

I always pull the mast in the fall, and go over it every spring as
part of commissioning. On my mast, it's a very simple matter to remove
the sheaves so you can really get a good look at them, clean them and
re-lubricate. I wouldn't be able to do that while suspended by two of
the halyards which are on those sheaves.

With the mast down, I can also slide the shroud/stay heads out of
their cups to inspect both. I add some lanacote to the cups. Same with
inspecting the spreaders and the tangs. I feel I can do a better job
on the ground, and if something needs fixing, I don't have to make
several trips up and down in the bosun's seat.

If I was in the water year round, I would probably consider pulling
the mast periodically anyway for a more complete going over, cleaning
and lubricating than can be done in the air.



Pulling the mast isn't an option for me. The only realistic way to service
the masthead is to get up there (aka hire someone to do it).

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com