BR20 - brackets for tabernacle bolt

[richard_drolet]

Greetings,
Two of the holes for the screws holding the brackets for the tabernacle bolt at the foot of the mast have become too large and the brackets are loose. I am thinking of simply drilling new holes and moving the brackets half an inch or so lower. Has anyone had this problem and how did you fix it ?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions

[Llafurio]

You cannot "move the brackets lower". The mast foot must be standing firmly on deck, not just hang in the hinges / brackets.

I would glue wooden "plugs" in to refill the widened holes. I typically use stems of matches, or splinters of mahogany.

BTW, your screws look too short. I use much longer ones. The screws holding the brackets are critical.

These bracktes at the rear of the wooden mast foot plug were a feature of the early boats only. SwBs / SwYs have later redesigned the tabernacles and now use bolts directly through the mast foot itself. Both designs work well, as long as the tabernacle holes are wide enough to give the mast foot sufficient play. If your through bolt is 10 mm diameter, the tabernacle holes should be drilled / filed to at least  around 14 mm diameter. The very early tabernacles had holes that were too small, resulting in breakouts of brackets or tabernacles themselves from the deck.
C.

[richard_drolet]

Thanks for preventing a bad idea ! I hadn't realized the mast stands on the deck - the bolt just holds it in place. The holes in the tabernacle are OK - about 14 mm

[Llafurio]

Richard,

looking at your photos it appears that it's the two lower screw holes that are worn most.

Two possible reasons: the wood of your mast foot plug has gone soft from the bottom up, or, your tabernacle hole s are still not big enough at 14 mm diameter. In any case you should file them wider, preferably oblong / oval in the vertical direction.


Claus Riepe