Rebuilding the mast systems required more hours of research and shopping than actual work, and the project dominated every free day of my life for over four months. Normally, a prudent boat owner would pick one project at a time, but masts don't easily come down and are even less likely to be transported to one's back yard allowing for easy access. I felt that I had no choice but to strip the mast and spreaders down to the bare aluminum shell and start over.

Standing Rigging - This is the high grade stainless steel wires and turnbuckles that hold the mast aloft. One failure of a single wire fitting, clevis pin, cotter pin, or turnbuckle will result in demasting of a sailboat, no exceptions. Roma's standing rigging was 39 years old and showing signs of corrosion and wear due to age and the past 12 years at the ocean. The existing rigging was removed and measured in order to shop for competitive pricing. This was the first part of the mast system to be removed and the new rigging would not be reinstalled until the mast was transported back to the coast and ready to be raised.

Running Rigging - Primarily, these are the lines used to raise and control the sails. Halyards are lines used to raise and hold the sails in position while sailing. With the advent of hollow aluminum masts many boats, including Roma, utilize internal halyards which run inside the mast exiting at the top and near the bottom of the mast. Roma actually uses a combination wire/rope halyard and therefore cannot easily be replaced if the mast is rigged upright on the boat. In addition to replacing the two internal wire/rope halyards I have always wanted to add a third halyard for flying a spinnaker. I chose to do this by shackling a high quality air block to the masthead and using an all rope external halyard. Additionally, I've replaced the topping lift which is another external line used to hold the aft end of the boom in place when the mainsail is down.

Electrical - Roma's electrical wiring was simply "shot," meaning that none of her mast lights worked. Two navigation lights are required on any sailboat mast when using the boat at night. Midway up the mast or near the spreaders is the steaming light. Atop the masthead is the anchor light. Additional lights on Roma are the dock lights mounted on the spreaders. Dock lights are sometimes added as a combo light with the steaming light to provide illumination on the boat's forepeak or bow area. I decided to go with separate dock lights mounted on each spreader with one pointed slightly down to provide light on the bow area and one shinning straight ahead for lighting up the water ahead of the boat. One issue with night navigation is running over crab pots which are usually dropped in the channel - the very area a boat is trying to navigate.

I opted to replace all the lights with modern LED type fixtures and bulbs in order to minimize electrical output. Additionally, Roma's DC wiring consisted of a red or "hot" wire to all the lights which were then grounded directly to the mast. This might have been the standard in 1974, but it also provided a direct path to the boat's batteries and other electrical systems if there is a lightning strike. I added a separate black or ground wire for all lighting fixture and thus eliminated the mast as a DC electrical ground. The mast still provides service as a lightning grounding device, but at least the grounding methods are separated.

Electronics - Prior to my purchase of Roma, she was equipped with a wind instrument which one of the previous owners had removed. I've long wanted a wind instrument with a cockpit gauge to show wind speed and direction. My birthday present from Susan and Cail was a Clipper Model CL-W wind instrument. Needless to say, Roma and her skipper are quite pleased. Since the mast is removed from Roma this is the perfect time to install the masthead transducer needed to provide data for the wind instrument.

I also decided to add a digital television antenna to the mast during the renovation project. We've learned that most marinas do not have cable TV so boaters must rely on their own antenna to receive local television stations. Here I opted for a 10" Glomex Model GXV9123 with gain control.

My plan was to complete the mast renovation and launch Roma in time to participate in the Golden Isles Sailing Club's annual Coastal Cup Race on May 18. With all the projects complete I loaded the 32' mast on my 24' trailer and headed back to Two-Way Boatyard near Darien on May 8. Over the next two days I added the new standing rigging to the mast, and with the help of the crew at the boatyard raised the mast prior to "splashing" at high tide on Friday May 10. Shortly after loading Roma and installing the sails I headed off for the three hour trip to Morningstar Marina at Golden Isles located on the Frederica River at St. Simon's Island.

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF THE BEFORE AND AFTER MAST REBUILDING

There was still a great deal of work to do, but Roma was once again in her element and it felt good to be back at the helm after five months of dry dock.