Took some time out from varnishing to make a wind indicator/vane that fits into the mast crane. It's made from brass tubing of various sizes. The weight at the front is simply three progressively larger bits of tubing soldered together. This is my first attempt and I'm not convinced of the strength of it, especially where it's bent. But was easy enough to make and if it snaps off I'll make a better one! It's also a rough-draft! Yes, it looks pretty sloppy, but future ones will be better. And in a future one, I see no need to solder a second bar on using tube sections. Instead, I'll just solder the two bars themselves.  Peace!

While I'm waiting for the 6th coat of varnish to harden on the hull, I've started to varnish the mast. Yes, I'm an idiot for not varnishing the mast all along with the six coats on the hull! But I managed to get one coat on so far. Today I cut the slot for the mast crane, fitted the crane, and drilled two holes for through-bolts. Next, I'll remove the mast crane and return to varnishing the mast. Notice too that I soldered a brass tube to the mast crane. It is to hold a wind indicator that I'll make shortly. Should work well... I hope! More later. Aloha!

Made a mast crane based on one that I have made in the past for my Star 45's. Works well for them, and should work well for a Vintage Marblehead Sun Wind. It's made from brass, with a bar for strength soldered to the top. The idea is that a slot will be cut into the top 2" of the mast, and the crane will be through-bolted. This link is to the original schematic of a mast crane that you can build yourself, courtesy of the Miami Valley Model Yacht Club in Ohio.  Here is my updated version. Click to see the full-sized image and then copy and paste it into Word. It "should" print at just about the correct size, but you may have to adjust the image a bit. Cut it out and spray glue it to some brass sheet. Cut it out on a band-saw and then sand smooth. Be careful when working with tools and metals!! This is what I ended up with for my Sun Wind HF. I decided to reinforce the crane with a length of brass bar soldered to the top edge. Back to deck pl...