2025 January Snow
A little snowfall graced Richmond this week on two occasions. Here are a few photos from walks around Pony Pasture park.
Tag: Richmond VA
Richmond Virginia
Snipe Mast Step Rebuild
In Spring of 2020 we took a socially distanced trip to Deltaville to take the Snipe out for a day of practice and to get out on the water for the first time that year. We rigged the boat and sailed some reaches back and forth in front of the club in the 8-10 knot north wind for about 20 minutes. With everything going well we decided to sail downwind out into the river and into the stronger winds further south. Downwind was fine, but just a minute after turning to go upwind with the boat fully powered up we heard a bang and the shrouds all went slack. The mast stayed vertical, but it had fallen through the mast step and was sitting on the bottom hull of the boat 4″ lower than it was supposed to be. We hobbled back to the club and took the boat home for repairs.
The boat is a 1986 Phoenix Snipe and had a wood mast step. It had likely been cracked for some time as the boat took on some water in the parking lot when rainwater would run down the mast. It wouldn’t get water in it when we were sailing or when it was stored covered with the mast down. So began some research to figure out how best to repair the step and make the boat sailable again. On the advice of a snipe-sailing friend I posted a note in the Snipe Sailing Facebook Group asking for suggestions. I knew rebuilding the structure that was there was going to be hard and was hoping someone had some experience with this. Marcus Ward suggested rather than repairing what was there, to just put a fiberglass plate over the hole with a new mast step and shortening the mast.
We started by getting a Selden mast step. The existing mast base was just a little too wide to fit in it so we needed to grind down the sides a bit to make it fit.
Next a 12×12″x1/4″ G10 fiberglass board was acquired and we used cardboard and later a piece of wood to make a template of the fiberglass board that we were going to cut for it.
To cut the G10 fiberglass plate we got a saw blade, used for cutting tile, to use on the table saw.
To mount the plate in the boat we used West G/Flex Expoxy 655. The floor of the boat it was mounted to wasn’t flat and so this product has some filler and would bridge the gap and create a solid bond. Then screws were used to mount the mast step into the board.
With the mast step in place, I needed to cut the mast down as far as I could so it would be the same height as it was. The challenge was the jib halyard block at the bottom of the mast. We would need to make the mast base fit around the block if we were going to shorten the mast as much as we could. The mast base was milled and ground down to fit the mast.
The next step was actually cutting down the mast. I used a 200-tooth aluminum and plastic blade on a miter saw to get a clean and square cut on the mast.
The final step was mounting the vang blocks to the plate near the base of the mast and then actually re-rigging everything that had been taken apart.
With the mast being .75″ taller than it was, I’m sure it needs to be re-measured and adjusted. The mast collar had to be adjusted just a bit so it hit the boat in the right spot. We’re just happy to be able to sail it and to extend the life of the boat a little bit longer.
Huge thanks to Marcus Ward for the idea, Stan Deutsch for the help and tools, and Frank Hoos for milling the mast base.
Parts:
- Selden Heavy Duty Mast Step $52
- 12″ x 12″ G10 Fiberglass Board $50
- 10″ Super Thin Diamond Saw Blade for Cutting Porcelain Tile Granite Marble Ceramic Tile $9
- West System 655-8 G/flex Epoxy Adhesive, two 4.5 fl oz., White $29
- IVY Classic 35056 Swift Cut 10″ 200 Tooth Aluminum & Plastic Cutting Circular Saw Blade with 5/8″ Arbor, 1/Card$24
2019 Anthem Corporate Run
It was a hot night for a run – this year’s Anthem Corporate Run was another muggy night in Innsbrook with dozens of companies represented. I’ve been doing a lot of running the past few weeks and I used this as and opportunity to beat my 5k time. I started out a little too fast running the first mile in 7:10. I slowed up a bit as the race went on and finished in 23:29 – which was good enough for 8th fastest at my company. The party afterward was well attended and it was fun catching up with past colleagues and friends at various companies.
2019 Hill Topper 5k
For the 2nd year now I got out to run the Hill Topper 5k in Church Hill. While it has been pretty cold both years I’ve run it – it has served as a good race to train for and start getting in shape for the Monument Ave 10k a month later.
Caroline & Ian’s Wedding
In February Caroline and Ian got married. It started with drinks out at a brewery which led to late night margaritas with out of town sailing friends and followed up with a beautiful wedding and reception on Saturday. Congrats Caroline & Ian!
2018 December Snow Storm
We got quite a bit of snow in Richmond this weekend. We had fun making a snowman and walking through Pony Pasture Park to see the river.
2018 James River Flood Wall and Slave Trail Hike
Thanksgiving weekend we had a beautiful afternoon and Jess and I went exploring in the James River Park system. We started at the south end of the Potterfield Bridge, went east along the flood wall, then to the slave trail before backtracking to the Manchester Bridge and through part of the city back to Brown’s Island and the Potterfield Bridge back to the car. It was a long hike, but it was cool to see parts of the river we’ve not seen before. We were really surprised by all of the development east of The Boat House along the Capital Trail. We’ll have to do this again when the river level is lower and we can do the pipeline walk.
2018 SpeakUp 5k
Jess and I ran the SpeakUp 5k for the first time Saturday the 8th. It was a fun run through Byrd Park with a lot of entertainment over a variety of terrain. We joined her co-workers and the thousands of others there to support this cause.