Released from customs, I was able to pick up my mast. I was a little worried about the fit (mast step, chain plates, stay lengths), so I mounted/test fitted only the lower section. This gave me three stays to check for correct fit. All good.
Next I built a custom aluminum masthead cap to hold everything at the tippy top (Tri-color, windex, VHF antennae). A quick test fit, then off to get anodized black. I also had the spreaders and spinnaker pole anodized black. I pulled wires for the antenna and lights through the mast conduit. I tested all the lights from the mast step to ensure I would not have to do anything twice. I also wanted to make the mast a little easier to separate back into two pieces for shipping. I did this by adding “press nuts” to the inside of the sleeve joint. They are 18/8 stainless steel nuts installed with a galvanic blocking gel. These are replacing the aluminum rivets and stainless machine screws supplied from SELDEN. I had to shorten/re-swage the factory forestay in order to assemble the jib roller furling. With several friends helping, the mast went up easy and without using a crane. It went up so fast, I did not get any pictures of the process.
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| Freshly Unpacked |
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| Stepping Lower Mast Half |
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| 3 Stays Test Fit Good |
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| Custom Masthead #1 |
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| Custom Masthead #2 |
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| Mast Section Joint Close Up |
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| Finished Joint |
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| Ready To Step |
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| Light Test, Final Inspection, Ready To Step |
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| Mast In Its New Home |
