Here I am planing the mahogany mast step down to its designed 20mm thickness. The new stainless steel fabrication to the right fits on top of the wooden mast step. I have modified this mast step fitting slightly. The two holes in the base combine with two pins in the bottom of the mast to stop it from rotating. These two holes are in the form of sealed stainless steel tubes which will stop water ingress into the wooden mast base. The 6 holes in rear of the stainless steel base allow for the attachment of sail adjustment pulleys.
The wooden mast base has been glued to the fore deck. I have glued wooden plugs onto the top of the attachment screws to stop any salt water playing havoc with the fastenings. I noticed when I dismantled the Starling at the start of this project the amount of corrosion on fastenings despite apparently having been sealed with glue or filler.
The trim for the top of the centerboard case has been glued on. It's awaiting a good sand and a few coats of varnish.
The main sheet track is supported by two wooden bases fastened port and starboard on the transom.
The stainless steel main sheet track spans the stern. I will attach it with some self taping stainless steel screws. The tiller will protrude through the central area. I feel I have now completed all the really big tasks. What's left to do is mainly light work - no more big sanding and construction jobs.
Yesterday I went and visited my cousin Stephen who runs the Onerahi Yacht Clubs dinghy racing programme. He gave me a some valuable information regarding official Starling Class measurements (position of the mast post etc, etc). He said that the Tuesday 'daylight saving' evening racing series begins on October 9th. There are a number of Starlings that race in this series. I may not be ready for the first race but I now have a date as a goal to work towards.
2 comments:
Hi Alden starts looking good.
Do you have any idée how much extra weight will come from the fiber glassing etc. What strikes me, looking at a Starling registration site, is that there is a large difference in hull weight measurement: up to 10 kg difference. I also saw a picture of a bend mast is that allowed?
Will be fun racing again. Is there also a senior Starling class (Smiley)
I think the extra weight would be somewhere between 500gms to a Kilogram.
Regarding the bendy mast - If I remember from reading the class rules the other day only a small bend is allowed when the mast is un-rigged which means that there can be no bend built into the mast shape - but this doesn't mean that the mast can't or won't be bent when loaded up by the mainsheet when sailing.
The Starling is an intermediate class that fits between the NZ P Class / International Optimist dinghy and boats such as a Laser or OK dinghy. They are mainly sailed by young people but they are a good option for people in their 60s such as myself who may not be as fit as they were when they were younger. I think from memory there are 2 other older guys who sail Starlings with the local OYC yacht club.
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