Masthead fitting for a Triton?

[CapnK]

(Oops! My apologies, I should have put this in the "Pearson Triton Specifics" board - sorry, Tim! I exemplify the rank of "Lowly Deck Grunge Scrubber", apparently. ;) )

Hi all!

Does anyone have a source for one of these? I am re-rigging a Triton (circa '65, East Coast boat, hull #567, IIRC) which took an unfortunate lightning strike (could they be anything else?). Part of the damage was to the masthead fitting, which will need replacement - along with the VHF antenna, Windex, all the in-mast wires, masthead light - well, pretty much everything, except for maybe the radar reflector...

As the Ariel and Triton share the same rig, I'll be checking for one of those at the Ariel site also, but I know this is the best place for Triton-specific queries. :) Any help/suggestions/advice appreciated.

Pics are at the following link, if you want to see them:

http://sailfar.net/forum/index.php?topic=2397.0

TIA!

[Tim]

Triton spars were built by several different companies, and there were variations in the masthead castings and spar sections throughout the build history. But you're not likely to find a stock component to fit most of these old spars today.

If you can't find a salvaged piece somewhere, new fabrication is likely your only avenue. Of course, there's always the chance that the spar on that particular boat is newer, or otherwise replaced, and may correspond with a currently-available section somewhere. But I wouldn't count on it.

[CapnK]

Well, color me 'not surprised', I guess - once again it seems that the one thing our old Pearsons have in common is: inconsistency. :D

I think maybe the fitting has been replaced once already. When I was looking it over yesterday, I noticed that it did not seem to be built even as stoutly as the one on my Ariel, which was a surprise quite possibly explained by your input.

At any rate, it looks like some thought, measuring, and research is the order of the day...

Thanks, Tim!

[bcooke]

I guess - once again it seems that the one thing our old Pearsons have in common is: inconsistency.

When Pearson started building Tritons, large scale wharehousing of the needed parts didn't exist and therefore, they had to shop around to get what they needed. That's why there isn't any consistency; especially among the early boats. Pearson played a big role in creating the whole 'high volume' sailboat construction infrastructure. They really were on the cutting edge of their day.

[s/v Faith]

Kurt,

You might give Ballenger a call;

Ballenger Spar Systems
215 Walker Street
Watsonville , CA. 95076
Phone: 831-763-1196
Fax: 831-763-1198

Or email; buzzballenger[at]worldnet.att.net

Their site sells the same extrusions as the Ariel has, and they sell complete masts so they must either have, or be able to get, what you need.

Good luck,

[CapnK]

Thanks Britton. Hadn't thought about the supply situation back then, so that makes perfect sense. :) BTW - Katie Marie's deck gelcoat condition is much the same as Jenny's was, so your thread on that topic has been educational and inspirational. The colors are the same, too, so I have your pics saved and squint at them to imagine what we'll look like, eventually.

Craig - I did a Search :D at the Ariel site, and couldn't find a specific post/thread related to the masthead fittings, but I will try Ballengers website as well (edit: after looking at the site, no - I will be calling them :) ). I do recall that they make "good stuff" and have a good reputation for customer satisfaction, so that may well be a solution. Muchas gracias for the reminder!

Yesterday I went over and took a long gander at what is there now. There appears to be a cap/plug inserted into the spar, anchored by SST screws through the side wall. Bolted to that cap are 2 AL extrusions with a 90* bend - think two "L" shapes, one reversed, everything attaches to pins that are run through the L uprights, and SST bolts run through the bottom of the L's anchor it to the cap. The L's are made of pretty thin metal - 1/8" or so - and the gap between them is approaching 1/2" in width.

SST and AL, who knows how old and how long they've had the chance to do the corrosion dance. I am understandably (I think) reluctant to tear that 'structure' down. If I were doing a Lackey-level rebuild :), that would be different. The situation is that the owner had planned on a simple re-rigging in order to be able to continue learning to sail here on the Bay, but now a couple extra cans of worms have been opened. Very expensive worms, comparatively. So he may want/need me to just "make do".

In that case, I think I will be able to get some extruded AL flat bar stock, cut it to fit, and then "laminate" it together and into the 1/2" gap with 5200, finishing with mechanical attachment/bonding to make it more or less all one piece of AL which spans the masthead. That should result in the fitting being capable of taking the loads, it will definitely be stronger than what the owner has had the last 2 seasons of sailing.

Thanks again for all the input so far!

[CapnK]

Just an update I'm tardy in posting...

Wound up doing what I could with the materials and sources extant. Made an 7-layer AL/5200 sandwich :), bonding precut 1/8" 6061 bar stock in between the two existing pieces of (very aging) masthead fitting (I find it hard to believe that what was there was actually working!). Much stronger now, as the masthead is effectively all one piece, composed of mostly new material.

AFA the standing rigging, replaced the swaged ends of the stays and shrouds with Hy-Mods top and bottom (owner elected to keep the existing lowers and jumper stays). The rig itself was a typical Triton 3/4 layout. Prior to rerigging, I had noticed that whoever rigged it last time had not properly tensioned the jumper stays and rig, and had attempted to make up for the weather helm this must have created by cranking the mast so far forward that it had a definite tilt towards the bow, with no pre-bend whatsoever. I fixed that WRT stay length on construction of the standing rigging, altering the length of forestay and backstay, and giving her a proper tune once we had the stick back in place. The owner says she now sails like a dream, like "a brand new boat". Mission accomplished!

Thanks for the helpful replies!

[Zach]

Cool!

What does WRT stay length stand for?

[Rachel]

I think "WRT" stands for "with regards to" or "with respect to" (although for some reason I always have to stop and think about that one).

Rachel