Hull #195 on its way to a her new home

[Command_1]

Hull #195 is on its way from Lake Lanier north of Atlanta to her new home in North West Florida. I hope to sail her year round. Many thanks to Kayla her former owner for answering all the questions from a rookie sailor.
I have only seen my new boat in pictures, but she already looks beautiful.
Antonio

[Tim]

Can we see your pictures?

[Command_1]

Looks like I need a web site to post photos, and I do not have one.
Try this link http://www.tritonclass.org/mir/195ta.html
Antonio

[Hirilondë]

Your pictures showing the transom ladder dragging in the water are as embarrassing as my first under sail pictures with my fenders dragging. Take some yourself once you get her home, cleaned up and in the water. Pretty boat, I wish you the best with her.

[Rachel]

Congratulations, Antonio, and welcome to the forum!

Can't wait to see and hear more about your new Triton. As you can probably tell, we have no mercy for folks who are photo-less :D

:high fives:

Rachel

[Command_1]

MarineMax at lake Lanier is beginning to leave a bad tast in my mouth.
They have had my boat to haul out for a week, and now, I am told that the step bolts will have to be drilled out at the cost of 2 to 3 hours of labor.
So now that I will have to "re thread" the holes, I am wondering if I should install a hinged mast step. It must be bullet proof because like every one else I want to do some blue water sailing some day :). But also want to save money on yard fees.
Any opinions, suggestions of hardware.
Thanks

[bcooke]

Step bolts?

Do you mean the fasteners on the mast step? Why would that have to come off?

If they are original then they are most likely bronze screws. Big ones. Easy to drill out in fifteen minutes.

Hinged mast step? The cost savings are minimal compared to the cost of owning the boat. And then you will have to devise a system for getting the mast up and down safely.

[Rachel]

That doesn't really make sense to me from how I've seen the Triton mast either. If I remember correctly, the ones I've seen have a round base with a "tenon" that sticks up and engages a rectangular hole in the mast base. Or maybe some are just the "round" base fitting into the open mast?

I wonder if someone has replaced the original (wood?) disc with one of stainless and they are fused together?

When I was helping to get a W-32 ready to truck from the East Coast to California, the yard crew was unstepping the mast while I was doing other things aboard, and they had a similar (and typical Westsail) problem: The mast is hinged and the mechanism used is a large athwartship pin that runs through a tube and tangs built in to the mast base. Well, the pin is steel and the mast aluminum, so you can imagine how they get stuck. That baby was not coming loose, so eventually the yard crew just unscrewed/unbolted the whole step plate from the deck, and it was transported still attached to the mast base, on the truck's mast rack, to deal with later (but not on yard crew time).

As Britton says, I would probably only get a hinged mast base if it's something you want anyway. Otherwise, just do whatever is required to keep things from seizing when you reinstall.

Rachel

[Tim]

Some Tritons do have aluminum mast steps. Or who knows what might have made its way onto the boat over the years. One thing we learn is to never assume that one boat is like the next.

Though I shudder to think of the overall neglect mechanism that leads to a mast corroding in place, it does happen. Aluminum corrosion is a powerful weld.

Here is an example of an aluminum step on a Triton--original as far as I know, but I don't know far. Note there is a piece of aluminum tape over the slot that hides it from view.

[Rachel]

Oh, sorry, I mis-remembered: It's a "tenon" on the mast and a slot in the base, not the other way 'round.

It's always so interesting to compare the variations in iterations of the same boat.

Antonio, I bet you can't wait to have your new Triton with you, safe and sound. I hope that happens soon so that you can start the fun of bonding with her.

Rachel

[Command_1]

Well it's here.
See Youtube under user name Command11 for arrival video.
I cannot begin to tell you how much damage MarineMax did to my boat.
Instead of drilling out the bolts on the mast, because they were rounded, some king of prying tool was used inside under the beam. You can see the leveraging marks on the beam’s crack. The nut is still attached to the bolt. Six hours of labor charged just for the mast (two of which my transporter guy helped or the boat would still be there).
I don’t know how hard it is going to be to replace that beam.

They sat the keel on blocks and cracked the fiberglass on the bottom edge of the lead keel. Two hours of labor plus $75 for materials not a huge deal. (ater all the horror)
The mast radio cable and mast light where cut instead of uncoupling the connection.
Over all the boat is in real good shape apart from all the recent unprofessional damage.
Bottom paint is in real good shape, topsides will need some sanding and repainting. Deck will need a lot more work. I will have to reread all of Tim's excellent notes.
An incredible amount of equipment in the cabin all was removed for inventory (three truck loads). Some stuff still in the boxes.
Interior original but pristine, thanks Kyla. V-bird will need just one coat of paint, I think.
A-4 looks very clean also, did not start it because the tech was working on my keel.
I cannot get over how clean and well maintained this Triton is in comparison to the many others I looked at during my five years of research.
Will post some photos as soon as I can figure out how-to.
Antonio
:) :) :):):):):):):):):):):)

[Rachel]

I'm sorry to hear about the damage to your boat, but, for the rest of the good news: Whee!

Sounds like she's a keeper!

Rachel