Something Broke on the Boat

Does something have to break every time we take the boat out?

We took the boat out to Lake Boca a couple of weeks ago and noted that our Anchor light was not working, as things that could go wrong, this is not a biggy, but it does mean I need to go up the mast.

Ok, so I should have checked the circuit breaker 1st, but they rarely go bad. It didn't!

After recovering from the weekend, we both went down to the boat intent on fixing the Anchor Light.

Up the mast #1

With a Trip up the mast to see if it was just the Lamp or the wiring or the fitting. Turned out the fitting was in pieces from Sun Damage and the LED lamp was damaged, probably got wet while lit.

Mast Cap. The block with the empty connector is the old
Wind Transducer that was broken when we purchased
Eximius. The White cable under the connector is the
Anchor Light wire that slipped inside the mast.
The old Anchor Light was sealed with Silicone, but the
Lens had dozens of cracks and several missing bits
probably due to UV damage over the years.

Up the mast #2

After getting a replacement Light fitting from Boat Owners Warehouse on State Road 84, we went back to the boat the next day. I was sore from the day before, my Bosuns 'seat' is webbing and not at all comfortable, today I could not get my butt up the mast due to the discomfort and finally gave up to go and get a decent Bosuns Chair. Down to West Marine off State Road 84, I found a Harken Bosuns Chair for $229 - Wow! But it's nice and should be comfortable. Back to the boat and in no time I was up at the top of the mast.

It took about 20 mins to install the new Lamp Fitting and prepare the wire ends for crimping to the old cable that came out of the top of the mast. First I tested the light using the wires from the mast and it worked fine, I even got the polarity of the lamp the right way around 1st time!

With the Lamp installed, I just needed to attach it with Crimped Butt Joints. Fully prepared, I had the butt joints and heat shrink tubing in my tool kit. with the cables prepared for crimping, I reached into my tool bag for a Butt Joint and Crimpers. Putting one in the Crimpers, I reached up for the supply wire - Where did it go? Oh S@%t! the wire had fallen down inside the mast, absolutely no chance of retrieving it! Grrrrrr. back down the mast, go home and figure out the process.

The following weekend, without an Anchor Light, we went up to Sunrise Bay to anchor among 12 other boats from the Hillsboro Inlet Sailing Club (HISC) and I used a temporary anchor light for the weekend. We purchased a pair of Dinghy lights at the Annapolis Boat Show a year ago, so I just used one of those secured to the Backstay as our Anchor light. It's Bright and easily lasted the whole night long. During the weekend, I was able to pull the fallen Anchor Light cable out from the base of the mast. I also confirmed that there were two unused cables, an old VHF cable and the old Wind Transducer Cable (our New Transducer is Wireless). The VHF cable was already cut off just outside of the base of the Mast.

Back to the Boat  today (Saturday) and Backup the mast. My Neighbor offered me a used Full Fall Arrest Harness, which is just what Harken instructs users of their Bosuns Chair to use.

With Harness attached to a safety line, and my Bosuns chair attached to a climbing rig (a couple of Prussic knots), Tool bag attached to a pull up line, my phone, and wearing my Ear Tec headset, Peggy assisted me wearing her headset while working the Main Halyard Winch (safety line was the Halyard), I headed up the mast.

Once at the top, I pulled up on the old VHF wire and the attached Anchor Light cable, luckily the two passed together through the hole in the top of the mast.

Within an hour of leaving the deck to go up the mast, the Lamp was connected, insulated and tested. We were good to go.

Of course, the tool bag hoisting line got snagged on the furled jib sail and the old VHF cable got snagged on the Radar Reflector and the spreaders, but I was able to free both and retrieve them.

Once back down on the deck after Peggy lowered me via the Main Halyard winch, we checked the Anchor Light, Steaming and Deck Lights, all working great!

Time for a lunch break, clear up and head home. We're ready for our next trip out on Eximius.

Eximius, she is Special! 😏