Favour from the Gods

This will be a long post.  The original snapped SeaHawk mast was a "D" extrusion from a company in Sweden. A tough find here in the States if looking for a replacement.  Daren Ball in Bury St. Edmunds had an extra mast but there was no way to ship it to the United States.  As soon as the length was mentioned the word "NO" was spoken. But a special thanks and shout out to Daren for his kindness.  Here in Florida I was having little to no luck caring up a 20 foot mast that fit the profile for a SeaHawk. You would think in a land with a hundred thousand sailboats they would be floating around like manna from heaven.  Nope.

My sailing buddy Capt. Jack Feeney (American Sailing Association instructor) reminded me that I had a little 14' racing sailboat in his back yard that I had left there several years ago and why didn't I check that mast - the one in  two pieces that fit together.  I had never sailed the boat.  It was a boat for young guys that like to hang their ass out over the edge at 15 knots - not for the faint of heart and certainly not for a 61 year old man. But I went by to give it a look and damn if the mast wasn't an exact match as a "D" extrusion.  Same length, same dimensions, same everything except the halyards are not internal.  Oh my. What were the odds?  Julian Crisp, my Brit rigger (though now officially a citizen of your former colony) and owner of Sparman USA here in Florida, said the chances of an almost exact match to be found in the States much less in the same city, much less in the hands of the same owner were astronomical.  He wanted me to buy him a lottery ticket.  Upon closer inspection the two masts were actually from the same company no less - SS Spars.  As Julian went to work swapping out the hardware from the snapped mast to the new mast he gave a running account of the work.  The old mast was internally corroded and almost not fit to use.  The newer mast was in much better shape and the external halyards were a big plus in his estimation.  He suggested the riveting together of the two haves of the newer mast because she would be carrying a heavier load of sail that the little racing boat.  It went together like a dream with nary a problem. See the inserted pictures for the work as it progressed.

Rigger Julian Crisp


Broken mast and replacement mast


Lower half of replacement mast.


Widening the sail track...


Difference in mast length and external vs internal halyard hardware.


The two mast halfs fitted and riveted together.


Julian and the Osprey.


Me and my SeaHawk in the driveway.

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