Over the last couple of seasons we noticed that putting the mainsail reefs in had become more difficult because of increasing resistance in the reefing lines, and jammed sheaves at the outboard end.
So we planned some boom maintenance before this season:
- Replace the worn sheaves, ensure they run smoothly
- Clean out the inside of the boom
- Wash the lines
- Replace the gooseneck nylon washers
The first step is to remove the lines from inside the boom, and replace them with mousing line so they can be rethreaded later. Leaves and other debris came out of the boom at this stage!
The next step is to remove the boom ends by drilling out the three 1/4 inch pot rivets at each end (6.5mm drill bit). Using a cordless drill on low speed and cutting oil, these came out easily.
At the gooseneck end, the sheaves are on hollow axles, secured in place with 3/16 inch (4.8mm drill bit) pot rivets.
At the outboard end, the sheaves are normally removable without having to take the end off. They are on a solid axle which is located in the slot you can see in the picture at the top of this article.
With the sheaves and axles out, we ordered replacement sheaves and pot rivets, and cleaned the parts in the workshop. Many thanks to Will at Eurospars in Plymouth for his help and advice, and for supplying the parts we needed.
Back at the boat, the boom is now open for a good wash out!
Even after a thorough wash, the first reefing line was still rough and frayed in places. So we decided to replace it (10mm Marlow Doublebraid – with a red fleck).
The last step is to rethread the lines and rivet the boom ends back in place, and then remount the boom with replacement nylon washers in the gooseneck.
Its all ready for the mainsail and its cover now.
