Part 2 - Columbia 29 refit, in the Rocky Mountains

[406Columbia]

Don,

Appreciate the input and I believe the mast is original. I think keeping weight down is a good idea but I still like the idea of steps. The ones I purchased are compisite or fiber reenforced glass and are feather light.

Had not considered mounting things to the spreaders and I left the original electrical wires in place to pull th enew ones through with when we are ready.

[Don C L]

Oh yeah, I didn't mount anything on the spreaders themselves, just the deck light and steaming light combo mounted on the leading edge of the mast just in front of the spreaders. Just re-did the mast a couple years ago and I had never had spreader lights or the deck light. Now, wow! the whole place lights up when I hit that light!
Oh and I like that the steps are light and fold up too to reduce windage. I think they are a good choice.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Oh yeah, I didn't mount anything on the spreaders themselves, just the deck light and steaming light combo mounted on the leading edge of the mast just in front of the spreaders. Just re-did the mast a couple years ago and I had never had spreader lights or the deck light. Now, wow! the whole place lights up when I hit that light!
Oh and I like that the steps are light and fold up too to reduce windage. I think they are a good choice.

spreader lights are a necessary part of offshore kit for the boat .
Not to mention how they scare the Crap out of unwanted visitors at 3 am when you suddenly flip them on while anchored.

[406Columbia]

Originally Posted by newhaul

spreader lights are a necessary part of offshore kit for the boat .
Not to mention how they scare the Crap out of unwanted visitors at 3 am when you suddenly flip them on while anchored.

Any brand in particular you have found to be good quality?

[406Columbia]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Oh yeah, I didn't mount anything on the spreaders themselves, just the deck light and steaming light combo mounted on the leading edge of the mast just in front of the spreaders. Just re-did the mast a couple years ago and I had never had spreader lights or the deck light. Now, wow! the whole place lights up when I hit that light!
Oh and I like that the steps are light and fold up too to reduce windage. I think they are a good choice.

Gotcha, any idea what brands you used and would you buy them again? Yeah the ability to fold and lightweight is what sold me. I also price matched at West Marine which I do on almost everything.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by 406Columbia

Any brand in particular you have found to be good quality?

no sorry
Just make sure they are bright and LED.

[jhulmer]

I'm rehabbing my masts and added the aluminum folding steps. I drilled and tapped for 1/4"-20 slotted flat head 316L stainless screws and used Tefgel to stop dissimilar metal corrosion. I've had good results from Tefgel.

I also completely rewired the masts and added all LED lighting. The spreader lights I changed the bulbs to LED and I went with the ForeSpar ML-2 LED steaming and foredeck light, because it was reasonably priced and had replaceable LED bulbs.

This turned out to be a lot of work but what boat project doesn't. Good luck with your project!

A couple Pictures:

[406Columbia]

Originally Posted by jhulmer

I'm rehabbing my masts and added the aluminum folding steps. I drilled and tapped for 1/4"-20 slotted flat head 316L stainless screws and used Tefgel to stop dissimilar metal corrosion. I've had good results from Tefgel.

I also completely rewired the masts and added all LED lighting. The spreader lights I changed the bulbs to LED and I went with the ForeSpar ML-2 LED steaming and foredeck light, because it was reasonably priced and had replaceable LED bulbs.

This turned out to be a lot of work but what boat project doesn't. Good luck with your project!

A couple Pictures:

That mast looks very nice. I found that light you mentioned looks pretty decent. https://www.walmart.com/ip/FORESPAR-...%20led&veh=sem

The steps look good too.

[406Columbia]

Well got another box in the mail today with boat stuff. This one was a Lewmar opening portlight size 4. I got to handle one of these at a West marine in VA and was impressed with the quality and size.

Purchased this to place in the door we intend to build to add more light and ventilation in the warmer areas we plan to frequent when this project finally gets completed.

Also picked up a 1/2'' thick sheet of marine ply when we were out on the coast last week. I want the door to be 1'' thick so I will just laminate two pieces or 1/2'' marine ply to obtain the desired thickness.

Was hoping to get started on some more boat projects this week but keep getting slammed with snow. For this month we are already over 58" if you can believe that!

[406Columbia]

Hello All,

Got our non-slip by 3M in the mail a couple of weeks ago and finally got it cut to fit a couple of the steps. The Amazon seller markets it towards people who put it on their stand up paddle boards (SUPs) or surfboards, so should do well when wet.


Significantly cheaper than the pre-cut steps they sell at West Marine!

[406Columbia]

So still kicking around the idea of an entirely new companionway slider. Really like this idea and a sea hood to cover it in the forward position. This in conjunction with a traditional door with that Lewmar portlight would be cool. Not sure how I would swing both but I'm sure it's possible.

[Don C L]

So I am wondering if you have decided what to do about your engine yet. I really think the engineer who owned the boat before me figured out the best system for a hoisting mount. I was just replacing the outboard the other day after servicing and pondering how it could have been improved. Couldn't think of anything.

[chowdan]

Originally Posted by 406Columbia

Well got another box in the mail today with boat stuff. This one was a Lewmar opening portlight size 4. I got to handle one of these at a West marine in VA and was impressed with the quality and size.

Purchased this to place in the door we intend to build to add more light and ventilation in the warmer areas we plan to frequent when this project finally gets completed.

Also picked up a 1/2'' thick sheet of marine ply when we were out on the coast last week. I want the door to be 1'' thick so I will just laminate two pieces or 1/2'' marine ply to obtain the desired thickness.

Was hoping to get started on some more boat projects this week but keep getting slammed with snow. For this month we are already over 58" if you can believe that!

Out of curiosity what is the sizing of those? Why did you opt to go for lewmar over other brands?

[406Columbia]

well back to boat work folks. More photos to come, had a bit of a set back with the blasting of the interior. The folks who were doing it for us blasted away much of the work we had already done, to say I was unhappy would put it lightly.



They shot straight through the Honduran mahogany in several spots. Were not sure if it can be salvaged. The interior frames of the new portlights also got sand blasted. Update to come.

[john61ct]

OMG, so sorry for your troubles.

Might be too soon now, but at some point maybe post a howto thread on just that part of the project,

maybe once the interior's complete, not just avoiding such disasters but all lessons learned?