Sheaves

One of the issues with dealing with an older boat is that the plastics do not hold up well to age. Unlike many boats with wooden masts, Spark has internal halyards. For the non-nautical readers, Halyards are the lines that raise and lower the sails. Most wooden masted sailboats and many with aluminum spars have external Halyards. Where this is important is that the sheaves, the pulleys that the lines run on, are made of a material called "Tuffnol". This English plastic is a form of laminate and is generally resistant to decay in a marine environment. Spark's, however, were old and worn out.

The problem is getting new sheaves made of tufnol. The GP class went to an all aluminum rig decades ago and parts for the Series 1 boats have gotten thin on the ground. The fact that very few GP14s made it to the US makes getting parts harder. This means I had to build my own.

The pulleys are by Harken, a well respected name in sailing. The Sheaves I build of an African hardwood called "Burbinga". This is a very pretty and very hard wood. I burned out several blades on the scroll saw shaping this wood. They should last a good long time and the darker wood contrasts nicely with the blonde spruce of the mast.

Due to the fact I had to make them myself, they are slightly larger than the originals, this required me cutting the holes in the mast to fit. I am not totally happy with my handiwork in that regard, but it can be fixed later. That is for a later post.