Sailing Supernovavideo
We have a huge problem [Ep. 137]
March 13, 2026 · 46 min · 56K views
What this video covers
A mast-track failure on Yvette and Darcy's Sunreef 62 — first noticed when the mainsail car jammed and couldn't be lowered during an Atlantic crossing — forces the mast to come down by crane at a dock on the Dutch side of St. Martin.0:06 Riggers from FKG diagnose the problem: one section of the carbon-fiber mast track has pulled away from the mast, stripping the bolt holes.7:49 The fix requires helicoils and adhesive; the holes prove small enough to accept the helicoils, and the track section is repaired the same day.10:51 With the mast horizontal for one night only, Yvette and Darcy work through to roughly 3 a.m. tackling a backlog of jobs: rewiring a corroded anchor light (chafed wire found and cut back, heat-shrunk, and tested), replacing a failed deck light, labeling all previously unmarked mast wiring, removing a dead wire that connected to nothing, and fabricating a replacement radar mount after the original cracked aluminum bracket is found broken in two.27:06 Darcy welds and drills a new bracket on-site.14:57 A mismatched replacement searchlight cannot be installed — different wiring and base — so a Dyneema line is threaded partway up the mast for a future installation.27:18 The mast is scheduled to go back up the following morning at 9 a.m. Carbon-fiber spars require professional repair even for minor track damage because stripped bolt holes in carbon cannot be improvised the way aluminum can.11:16
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