Learning curve
David Barwell has problems with a shiny new mast.
We set off from Plymouth on our adventure in October 2014, bound for Rio de Janeiro and returning via the Caribbean in 2016.
We had a new mast stepped the week before we left following some irreparable damage to our old mast. The only paperwork we received was the invoice, so we were completely unaware of the mast manufacturer's warranty terms and conditions. We actually never gave it a second thought – what could possibly go wrong with a brand new mast and rigging?
By the time we arrived in the Canaries it was impossible to lower the mainsail fully so we used a sail tie to secure the head. We spent time trying to figure out the cause without understanding the problem and continued on to Cape Verde. Here we tried to remouse the halyards thinking the problem might be that they were crossed inside the mast. At least we were sailing long distances so we rarely raised or lowered the main.
When we arrived in Salvador, Brazil, we managed somehow to get the main halyard out and replaced it with a spare new rope halyard. We have always had a wire to rope halyard for the main and thought that perhaps with the new mast the old wire was having problems going over the sheave at the top of the mast.
Twenty-four hours after leaving Salvador for Vitória, a distance of 500 miles, the main descended with a short bit of frayed halyard attached to the head. So the wire halyard was re-reeved in place of the topping lift and we continued on our way. At Vitória, we made six trips up the mast over two days to remove the plate on which the navigation lights are mounted, and that revealed deep grooves in an aluminium compression tube, part of the cap shroud assembly. The wire halyard had cut through the aluminium tube and was now cutting through the stainless steel bolts! Having contacted the rigging company we decided to continue to Rio, a distance of 300 miles, to make it easier to receive help.
In Rio many emails were exchanged with the rigging company and mast manufacturer resulting in a new cap shroud assembly being sent out and the promise of some new halyards as the topping lift had also suffered.
Here we starting to realise the impact of the manufacturer's 'back to base' warranty and the difficulty of finding a good rigger in Rio to replace the assembly. We were caught in a ‘rock-and-a-hard-place’ scenario as hiring a local rigger would invalidate our warranty, and none could be found with relevant experience.
Eventually a suitable rigger was found, he had the skills and his English was better than our Portuguese. He came to visit, saw the replacement parts with assembly instructions and decided he would do the job but
only with the mast out. However, the rigging company and mast manufacturer decided this was expensive and unnecessary. I was encouraged to 'have a go' myself as it was deemed a straightforward job, in fact, they said, 'a 20-minute job with a blowtorch and screwdriver.’
Now, I am always willing to mend anything within my capabilities but being nearer 70 than 60, not a rigger and with no spares shop nearby, I tried to remove the cap shrouds but failed at the first hurdle.
Ultimately, until the cap shroud assembly was extracted, it was unknown as to whether the wire halyard had damaged the through- bolts. We were offered a rig check by the mast manufacturer once we arrived in Antigua – which was 3,500 miles away! According to the mast manufacturer, the terms of the ‘back to base’ warranty meant that it was up to us to get our boat to its nearest base, at our expense, where it would attend to the problem! This was despite being in Rio with an international airport within sight of the boat and the Brazilians getting ready to hold the Olympics the following year.
Our solution was, after consultation with an experienced rigger, to continue up to French Guiana where we paid for the rigger to fly out and replace the assembly at our own expense. And yes, a groove was being cut into the cap shroud through-bolt by the wire halyard. Happily these expenses have recently been refunded by the rigging company.