Sailing Uma · video

What this video covers

Dan and Kika on Uma complete two structural upgrades required before re-stepping the mast after roughly two years of sailing without one.Watch The first is replacing a 50-year-old cast-aluminum deck collar — held by wood screws and bedded with 3M 5200 — with a custom stainless steel unit bolted through the deck with M10 bolts.0:43 The new collar carries attachment points for three reefing lines, mainsheet, main halyard, Cunningham, outhaul, and spare halyard, routing all control lines aft to the cockpit.5:26 Two aft attachment points tie to the mast via turnbuckles or tie rods so halyard loads compress the mast rather than pull up on the deck.5:56 The second upgrade is a rebuilt keel step: the original aluminum box, corroded from sitting in bilge water against bronze keel bolts, is replaced with a G10 fiberglass pedestal epoxied into the bilge, topped by a new aluminum plate elevated clear of standing water.21:07 The G10 is cut in two sections to preserve torque-wrench access to the keel bolts.25:41 Both projects required exposing and sealing deck core with epoxy before final installation.3:35 Routing lines aft to the cockpit demands a deck collar structurally tied to the mast, not just bolted to the deck.1:04

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