[Rhodes22-list] Wingnuts (not political)

[BenCittadino]

So last week I was getting ready to cast off all lines for an afternoon of
gliding smoothly on the bay inside the protective barrier of Sandy Hook,
when I noticed an odd thing. Sitting balanced atop the cabin overhead within
a few inches of the base of the mast sat a wingnut.  "Now where the heck did
that come from?", says I. Did someone throw it? All my stays and shrouds are
taped and secure. As I'm about to stick it in my pocket I look at the base
of my mast. Now understand I have never had this mast down. I have it in a
slip in season and she gets hauled out and stored at the marina all winter
with the mast up.

I now see that the bolt holding the mast is more than halfway out of the
mast and the wingnut is clearly the fastener for the end of that bolt
holding the mast in position. The wingnut has of course been subject to the
twisting and other stresses working on this craft, and has managed to work
itself loose.

Moral of the story: Unlike the car that I jump in and go with every day
without so much as a single walk-around, my pre-departure checklist for the
boat needs to be amended to include a thorough inspection of all nuts and
bolts, including those on the engine and steering gear. Thought the other
newbies on the list might like to know.

Another disaster, narrowly escaped.

BenC
SV Susan Kay (93 recycled 08)
Highlands, NJ  
  
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