Forums, Mast, Rigging and Sails, Kemp mast

Zoom 495 at 05/10/2014 18:10:59
I have just purchased one of the few UK built Contessa 32 `s on the West Coast of Canada. I hope to draw upon the experience of others here to guide my various projects. The first project will be refitting my Kemp mast.
The first questions are; Is there a conduit for the wiring running to the mast head? Are there any tricky or specific inspection items with respect to the Kemp mast? Is there any reason to remove the roller reefing gear from the mast? ( the vessel now has slab reefing ).
Thank you in advance and for all the postings read so far.

waratah912 at 05/10/2014 20:32:21
I have a 1974 Kemp mast with roller reefing, so it may be similar.
Yes, there is a conduit to the masthead, but it doesn’t run all the way to the foot of the mast, it stops somewhere above deck level, I suspect above the roller reefing as it’s on the centre line. There’s also a fair gap at the top, definitely enough to allow you to chafe through wiring with the halliards if you don’t get it right! A USB camera on a long wire is useful, you can poke it through the sheaves and have a good look at what is going on inside, or remove the heel and run it up the length of the mast.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Microscope-Endoscope-Recording-Inspection/dp/B009GBTJC4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1412537497&sr=8-3&keywords=inspection+camera
Check the fittings around the vang attachment, probably worth removing and refitting with lot’s of insulating paste.
Also check around the foot, I had a lot of corrosion in the bottom half inch we we resolved by cutting a couple of inches off the bottom and building up and re-anodising the mast foot.
I have a slab reefing boom, but it is fixed to the original roller handle with a simple universal coupling and the topping lift / mainsheet are pivoted through the boom end fitting. This means I can easily stow the mainsail single handed by winding it around the boom. Definitely an advantage if you’re sailing short handed.

Zoom 495 at 05/10/2014 20:52:38
Thank you Paul, that is a great start for me. Allow me to continue please!
I have a wind driven paddle wheel of sorts at the head of the mast. Was this an anemometer or a wind generator? Or was it perhaps an add on to the OEM set up? The wiring appears to be old, undersized and reminiscent of British cars built in the 60`s and 70`s. Is it reasonable to attempt to fish new wire through the conduit?
I will be sure to inspect the areas you mention closely thanks.
Kris Oetter
Vancouver Island, Canada

waratah912 at 05/10/2014 23:24:00
If it looks like this :
http://ckdboats.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/hbyc-marina-gets-60-knot-wind-speed.html
It’s an old B & G wind speed indicator, and would have a multicore (7?) cable.
If there’s already a cable through the conduit, then you can use that to pull a messenger through. If not, then I’d take the heel fitting off and feed through from the bottom and fish from masthead with a piece of hooked wire. You can get a flexible plastic device used for feeding cables through stud / cavity walls that is helpful for this.