The last of the planned work this year was on the masts.

Last year Simon Beaven fitted these beautiful stainless steel mast bands to carry the halyard blocks. However, I still managed to scratch the masts with the blocks attached to the spar. The same issue affected the main mast and the mizzen.

So, after lots of discussion, I decided to ask Simon from Quayside Marine to fit some protective sleeves to each mast. Simon again worked with Stephen Lord (from Flux Fabrication and Welding) to create a sleeve for each mast – to protect them from the blocks.

The new main mast and sleeve is shown below. The sleeve is made from a thin (1 mm) sheet of 316 stainless steel, rolled and welded by Stephen into a tapered tube that slips onto the mast.

I’m sure purists would be worried about the additional weight aloft, but I think I’ll appreciate the absence of scarred paintwork more than I’ll be worried by any minor increase in instability.

And here is the mizzen:

And the two together:

And here is Serina back afloat with her new sleeves.