The revised Karver lock (KHL5) is now functioning. When the main halyard is cycled it releases fine.

 Here is the mast head view of the 3Di J2, it has aged. But IdeesfixVIII is now sailing.

The Karver lock system did not latch off when tested yesterday, it needs servicing. This is why it was not possible to off hook the mainsail recently causing a lot of trouble as the halyard tension was increased to break loads with no effect.

 The masthead platform allows working efficiently at head of mast.

The new slider and attachment shown in full hoisted position. The slider is lashed to the shackle.

 

The new VHF antenna bracket is fiberglass and provides full electrical isolation from the mast.

 

 

The fitted slider has a diameter of 12mm and length of 12cm, it is latched directly to the shackle using M5 screws filed to 4.5mm. The track slot is 5mm. The track itself is around 12.7mm diameter or half inch. The precise measurement is difficult.

 The bottom slider has a wood handle to sandpaper the track. The top black slider is the original plastic coated slider which jammed. The VHF bracket is on the left. The red container is Swiss cow milking grease, it could be a good replacement for McLube.

The repair of the top Port damaged lip went very well. We hoisted the platform to the correct level. The lip was held closed tightly during the drilling of the injector holes spaced 4cm and 15mm from slot. The lip was then forced open using the lever tool. Epoxy was injected using the 3M gun. The lip was then pushed closed against the mast. Glue came out of the holes and a bit in the track that was wiped clean. A lashing held around the mast held the lip in place. The lip made a good fit back to the mast.

Yesterday we tested the slider and it jams into the slot. The inside of both lips needs to be very smooth. The slider runs against the inside of lips which are impossible to check visually. Also a lot of force is applied from the slider forcing the lips open and any irregularity will make the slider jam in the gap. It then acts as a wedge. An improved slider is needed.

 Here are the required tools, the top wood holds a steel plate 3mm which allows the opening of the lip. The drill with stopper for the holes and the gun with the mixing nozzle allowing the epoxy injection. The drilling caused debris to interfere with pushing the lip back into place, cleaning the crack is not so easy.

Elastic lashing help hold the Starboard lip back into place. Due to drilling debris the fit was not perfect and a small bump resulted.

The repair at the junction of the two mast track profiles. If the main sail top slider gets a bit worn it may wedge into the gap. The gap is 5mm wide and as the slider ages it tends to "stick" into the gap formed by the lips. At places the gap could be a little over 5mm and cause the wedging problem.
 

 The previous mainsail hoist of last week did not go well and further damage was done to the mast. At the location shown on the photo, the track go damaged at the junction of two sail track profile segments. By hand it is possible to push the track back into place. Epoxy will have to be inserted into the crack to bond the track back into place.

 View from mast head.

 The VHF antenna attachment bracket is moved down to allow the easy removal of the the mast head cap. Also 6mm alan screws are now used.

In January 2019, during the big overall, the mast track had been reworked. It is not clear what the damage was at the time. The actual damage is difficult to understand. Further investigation is needed.

 The BandG mast head unit needs revision, some bad contacts make the unit disfunctionnal. The VHF antenna support bracket also needs to be moved so as to enable the removal of the mast cap without the need to dismount the antenna. All screws are now alen, 6mm.

 The platform is now up and just about in position, it needs to be a little higher to provide the correct working position.

 The working platform is now ready, it needs to be hoisted to it's position below the top spreaders. Work on the mast mainsail track can begin.

 

The top mast batten pocket is worn and needs repair. These pockets are critical to the sail and proper clearance between the luff rope and pocket must be maintained in order to not damage the mast mainsail track.

 In order to proceed with the repair Clive prepared a working platform. The repair will not be easy and having a bit of stability up in the mast can only help, we will soon see how effective the platform is.

 The mast main sail track is damaged at three places below the top spreader, until the repair takes place no sailing is possible. As of August 2021 the sailing had to be stopped.

 Our new main has arrived and fits perfectly. Her shape is excellent, could not be better. A few adjustments need still to be done to the halyard and cunningham to adapt to the luff length.

Ideesfix happy getting the new main !

 Greg had a new pin machined without the load cell. This will give us time to repair the original pin and electronics.

 The cylinder is now in Mussafah and been revised. All the rubber joints need to be replaced, it is quite clear what the problem was.  The cylinder and piston are good. The rod is a bit scratched but will be polished.

Headstay cylinder pin out

 In order to remove the hydraulic cylinder pin Greb had a rig built and with the mast jack he pushed out the pin. The cylinder is now free and can be serviced.