It has been a pleasant sail during our first 24 hour period from Tonga on our way to Fiji. The winds have been all over the place between 4-14 knots from the south southeast. It wasn’t until this morning that the winds began to have a consistent velocity. So what do you do? That’s right sparky….Dig out the asymmetrical spinnaker and rig it up for the downwind.
A side note here….I learned a little trick from Michael Danielson of PV Sailing in La Cruz. If you are going to fly an asymmetrical sail almost directly down wind in light air, drop your mainsail to the first or even the second reef point then let her fly. You see the main tends to block the lighter winds from getting to your spinnaker and thus causing it to falter and have a difficult time staying filled. But, with the main mostly out of the way…Bammm! You have a good combination that works well dead down wind. Thanks Mike.
Okay back to sailing. We flew the spinnaker with the reefed main from 0900-1700 hours. After dropping the sock and bagging the spinnaker, Jilly noticed something didn’t look right with the bracket that attaches the boom to the mast. Also know as the gooseneck. When I started to investigate the bracket and mast, I observed that the starboard side of the bracket had lifted away from the mast leaving an approximate 1/4” gap where there shouldn’t be a gap. Okay, I thought this would be an easy fix. I remember reading somewhere that all boat projects are a broken bolt away from a three day project. Well, we found the head of the snake and had to deal with it. As I popped the first 1/4” rivet into place on the bracket, all looked good. Ha ha ha! That’s when it happened. The other side pulled completely out of the mast and we were looking at the gooseneck completely detached from the mast. Holy smokes Batman. That’s when all the fun started. We had to remove the old rivets as well as the new ones we had just put in.
What caused all this? Well earlier in the day I kept hearing a funny sound like something popping on the boom. No it wasn’t rivets being installed rather they were probably working themselves lose to a point of failure. I didn’t see anything obvious, but I kept hearing that noise. This day Jilly was under the weather and not feeling good so I had a long watch during the day. Needless to say I should have investigated the sound more thoroughly. The gooseneck is articulated to allow the boom to move up and down and side to side. It moved up and down very well but as it turned out, the side to side thing … not so much. In fact it was stuck and didn’t move at all. This put excessive loads on the mast/boom connection and caused the rivets to work a larger hole in the mast and eventually pull out. We don’t have a welder onboard, but we do have a drill. We ended up having to raise the bracket up about two inches and drill new holes. Fortunately, Dazzler is equipped with 1/4” stainless steel rivets and a handy 1/4” rivet tool for installation.
Tip number one: Don’t forget to use Tefgel or some other type of metal insulation for dissimilar metals like aluminum and stainless steel. The gooseneck on Dazzler is aluminum and the pivit pin is stainless steel. I did give the outside of the stainless steel rivets a good coating of Tefgel before popping them into place.
The issue was with the large stainless steel pin that wasn’t moving from side to side. You know what they say about the bigger hammer. I sprayed penetrating oil along the opening and even tried a small torch to heat it up a bit. After about thirty minutes of beating the bracket into submission from side to side, I got it loose enough to operate. I did try to disassemble it, but the small bolt protruding out of the bottom of the bracket couldn’t take much more of the hammer abuse I was giving it. Sometimes you just need to know when to quit. If I broke it out here, 300 miles from Fiji, it would be a long motor trip and then lots of trying to get parts mailed into Fiji or couriered via friend express. If I continued pounding I am sure the small bolt would have broken off. Then what? I decided to leave it together until I can get a new part from the states in August or possibly sooner.
Now that it was back together we had to see if it was going to move side to side. We unlocked the boom and bingo it was back into the realm of the living and working somewhat properly. Until I get the replacement parts I’ll have to keep a lubrication schedule and constant observations. All in it was about two hours before we completed this task. There is always something to keep you hopping if you own a boat.
If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen out there. Thanks Captain Ron! So, be prepared. I’m not sure when you have enough specialty tools. I guess it comes down to how independent you want to be. Parts are in the same category. When is enough, enough? Perhaps when you have one pair of shorts, a raggedy Hawaiian shirt with two buttons and two flip flops that don’t match anymore. LOL!
Until next time, fair winds!
Captain Dan & Jilly

If someone ever tells you the cruising life is easy, trust me, they’ve never really done it and have no freaking clue what goes on out here! Let’s start with the fact that I awoke for my watch last night feeling like complete and total crap. My sinuses were all stopped up, nose was running and I had a headache that could stop a raging elephant in its tracks. Of course I hated the thought of going on watch but during a passage is no time to be sick. We both need our rest and I had to let Dan get his so up to the cockpit I crawled with tissues, my soda and two jackets. It’s not cold but I was feeling a bit feverish.

Two hours into my watch I had to wake Dan to do a sail change. We lost all wind and the sails were flogging. I hated to do it but it had to be done. For those hardcore female sailors out there who are questioning why I had to wake him to do the sail change, well, that’s how we do it on Dazzler. I’m perfectly okay with allowing my Captain to make the decision. Yes, I know what to do but this is an unforgiving world out here and I know that Dan has far more knowledge and skill than I. I’m not afraid or ashamed to say so.

We ended up dropping the jib and turning on the engine. There just wasn’t enough wind to keep this big ol’ beast moving and we do not sit and flounder. That’s why they made engines; so we don’t have to bob like a cork right?
I told him to sleep a half hour longer since he had to get up but all I wanted to do was crawl back in bed. After my watch I finally got to do just that and I slept for four straight hours.

I woke up still feeling crappy but I figured Dan was probably ready for some more rest. He finally went down for a nap around 0930 but was back up on deck a half hour later. He wanted to get us back sailing again so we could turn off the engine. I was sitting in the cockpit when I saw him pushing the spinnaker sail out of the doorway. “Oh hell no! Please, let’s not do this now.” I’m thinking to myself. Don’t get me wrong, I love to fly the spinnaker…when I’m feeling good; but it’s a lot of work to put this massive sail into action and I just wasn’t feeling it today. Dan knew what I was thinking and promised to do most of the work. Even at that it’s a bitch! This thing is 1300 sq. ft. It’s 350 sq. ft. BIGGER than my last two bedroom apartment!

Of course there was no talking him out of it so up on deck we went. A half hour later she was flying and I was headed below. I sat around the table and fell back asleep for another couple of hours. Little did I know at the time but flying the spinnaker quite possibly prevented a major disaster aboard our beloved Dazzler.

After my nap Dan finally went down for a couple of hours. By the time he got up it was time for the net and after that, time to douse the spinnaker for the evening. We never fly her at night. It was about 1630 when we went on deck to start taking her down. It was a bit tougher than normal as the winds had kicked up but we finally got her on deck. I was standing at the mast pulpit awaiting my next order from the Captain when I saw something that didn’t look right. Dan has me trained to always be on the lookout for something unusual or out of place. This was definitely unusual! I waited until he was done getting the sail tied on top of the dink and then asked him to come take a look.

The gooseneck, which is the large metal bracket that attaches the boom to the mast, was separating from the mast. It is riveted in place and several of the rivets on the starboard side had pulled out. This could be very, very bad! The last thing on earth you want is to be flying the mainsail and have the boom separate and start thrashing side to side. It would be like an flying 16’ metal battering ram destroying anyone or anything in its path. No, not a good thing at all! Of course you know Dan, he has all the tools and parts to fix it so off he goes below to get his bag of tricks. And, score one for Jilly for recognizing a potentially dangerous issue!

We got the starboard side rivets out and replaced and then moved on to the port side. Uh oh! The ones on the port side pulled out completely with the pressure of the others being tightened. I say a little prayer as he sets about trying to get this massive boom positioned so he can put the rivets in on the port side. Before he can do that he has to get the gooseneck up flush to the mast…much easier said than done. Keep in mind we are doing this on a boat that is bouncing up and down in 2 meter swells with 10-15 knots of wind. Working on a moving platform is always tricky. Tools are sliding around and constantly having to be corralled. I felt like the great cat herder out there on deck. Just when I got the drill secure a punch starts to roll away and then a wrench starts to wander off. It’s a never ending battle that gets harder as the swells get larger and the wind picks up.

As Dan’s moving the boom around trying to get it in place I’m standing on the portside deck. All of the sudden I heard the creak of metal and then a snap. All of the newly installed rivets on the starboard side broke loose and now the boom is literally dangling in mid air held only by the mainsail and the lines that keep it attached to the deck. “Holy mother of God!” I blurt out. I’m sure the look on my face was priceless. I probably looked like one of those cartoons with my eyes popping out as my jaw bounces to the deck and back up causing the top of my head to shoot into the air. You know how I talk about the sphincter factor when we cruise through the reefs? Well let me tell you…it shot immediately to raging red, ultra tight mode in about a millisecond. Dan, however, was cool as an a mountain breeze as he stood there looking at this like he expected it to happen. Of course I’m certain that it was all for my benefit. You know, keep the little woman calm. He studies the situation for a moment then heads below to get more tools as I’m watching nightfall approach while saying more prayers.
As he’s working on the gooseneck he figures out what caused the problem. The gooseneck had seized up and was no longer swinging side to side so each time the boom made a swing it was just pulling at the bracket and the rivets. Okay, so now he has to fix this before he can attach it again. This turns out to be a much bigger issue to deal with but with perseverance and a big hammer he gets it moving again. Now we have to get the boom in place. We had to move it from its original location on the mast because the rivet holes had become enlarged so we used a halyard to pull the boom up a little higher and hold it in place. Dan drills the new holes and just as it’s getting dark he’s able to put the new rivets into the gooseneck.

Two hours after I pointed out this issue we get all the tools put away and I’m suggesting that we don’t put up the sail tonight…just motor until morning so we have light when we test it. Dan won’t have it. “I have to have faith in my work” he says as he heads out to hoist the mainsail. More prayers are said on my end. The good news is that was over six hours ago and all is still good. Once again I say….there is NOTHING my man can’t fix!

Oh yeah…the rivet tool he used to put those beauties into the mast…more than once I’ve looked at it and thought to myself…why in the heck do we need this? He’s never used it and it’s just taking up valuable room I could use for shoes. Well now I’ve seen why we have it and honestly, I think I have enough shoes!

So, here I am back on watch. I’m still not 100% but getting better. I’ve thanked God for the blessings of today and I can’t help but think how us putting up that spinnaker put me in the right place to see this potentially disastrous problem. Thank you God!

Until next time,
Jilly & Dan