While re-rigging the mast on my M17 after it sat in my brother's yard for 15 years, I found that the halliards would were jammed inside the mast. It took several hours to remove the accumulated nesting material from the mast using an electrician's fish tape with hooks taped to the end. The stuff was packed 8 feet into the base of the mast and filled a 5 gallon bucket halfway. A good pressure washing cleared the remaining bit of junk. I made a wooden plug to put into the foot of the mast to stop future intruders when the mast is down. I spliced on new rope tails and fished them through the turning blocks to the outside of the mast. Removing the bolt through the mast that holds the spreader brackets simplified the job. I then put a conduit of thin PVC tubing into the mast to prevent the halliards from chafing the wiring for the new masthead tricolor and the steaming light and another for the VHF antenna coax. I had a new masthead extension (similar to the one on flush deck M17 Amy) fabricated so the backstay will clear the roach of the full batten main and gives a nice long flat top for the windvane, tricolor masthead light and VHF antenna to be clear of each other. The moral of this story is that the open end of a mast is an open invitation for critters to nest. Ron M17 #14 (fin keel) Griselda
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