[Rhodes22-list] Bosun's Chair

[John Lock]

At 12:43 PM 8/10/2007 -0700, you wrote:
>        I have the mast raising crane and used it 4 times already 
> this season.  Twice to get operational at home port, once on for a 
> cruise on Lake Michigan, and once just to tweak the fittings.   To 
> some, raising and lowering the mast may sound scary, but using a 
> bosun's on my Rhodes as tender as it is initially during a gust, 
> really sounds scary to me.

Well it shouldn't be hard to find out!  As I go up I'll be able to 
sense if the mast wants to tip one way or the other.  If it gets 
scary, I come back down.  In the absence of lateral forces (waves, wind, etc.)

>For whatever method you use, I have found that just removing the 
>spider webs and the egg sacks you see doesn't rid your mast head of 
>spiders.   For spiders I have inserted some styrofoam in the top of 
>the mast and soaked it well ( besides spraying the entire area and 
>windex) with a spider pesticide.  At least for past two months it 
>seems to have kept the pesky little insects away and the windex free 
>to operate accurately.

I think it was Rummy who suggested liberal application of WD-40 will 
have a similar effect.  When I initially tried to "sail them off" I 
could never generate sufficient wind to break the windex free of the 
webs.  It would spin part way and then spring back.  Maybe just a 
light air day, more wind would have helped.

Cheers!

John Lock
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s/v Pandion - '79 Rhodes 22
Lake Sinclair, GA
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