So this season I have been gearing up and changing my rigging around bit by bit as I find pieces here and there. My ultimate goal is to rig up a mast top spinnaker for use later in the season. So far, I've got the mast head halyard set up. Today I took the next step and installed a removable compression post. My Typhoon has the saddle supports that came with older Cape Dorys but I thought it best to add a bit of extra support before trying out the mast head spinnaker.
So here is what you will need: A nice piece of teak, two other (less nice) hardwood boards for underneath the floor cut to 4 1/2 inches, epoxy, 3M permanent mounting tape and a master lock adjustable door jam.. I routered the teak to give it a soft edge for when I bang my head into it.
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| Nice board ready to install. |
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| Setting the Teak upper. |
I drilled holes in the back of the teak plate to match the mast step through bolts. I did not remove the mast step and put extended bolts on. I wanted a smooth surface on the bottom of the teak no bolts coming through to hit my head on. They would also be in the way of the compression post.
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| Drill holes to match mast step through bolts. |
Even though I had to offset one of the holes it fit like a glove holding itself up. A nice tight fit. =-)
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| Fits like a glove. |
This is where the 3M permanent mount tape comes in. This stuff is tough but not completely impossible to remove should I need to remove the mast step at a later date.
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| 3M mounting tape |
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| Stick to ceiling. |
Here it is installed. I'll varnish it later when I do my maintenance coat on the rest of the teak later in the season.
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| Upper installed. |
I started thinking I'd go in this way. After fishing the blocks back out I ended up putting them in through hatch in the v berth.
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| Not the way to go. |
After some wiggling and jiggling I pressed the boards into place. Then poured epoxy in around the base. I will probably do this a few more times to be sure it does not shift.
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| In place below cabin sole set firmly on the keel. |
The next step is to find the right setting for your master lock door brace. As you can see it is quite adjustable.
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| Master lock door brace |
Here it is final installation. The master lock bar is held in via tension between the cabin sole and the cabin ceiling. The best part of this installation is the compression post can be removed and the V berth is fully functional.
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| Installed floor to ceiling. |
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| Installed |
Finally, there is always the question where to stow the head? Mine fits quite well under the cockpit sole.
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| Head goes under cockpit sole between the scuppers. |
Chris, that is a great sequence of photographs. The door brace I have not seen before; where do you find those? As for compression, I've not observed any noticeable compression on my cabin while under sail. I have not measured it with a tape; suppose I could do that. I figured that unless I observed a problem I'd not worry with fixing it. Perhaps adding a spinnaker might be the extra that would require it. Not sure.
ReplyDeleteWilliam you can pick the door brace up at any big box hardware store, menards, home depot, lowes. I really have not seen any saying in my coach top but I figured this is cheap insurance for when I run my mast top spinnaker. I also have a small spinnaker as well "about half the mast." I wouldn't worry about to much.
ReplyDeleteHey Chris, was relooking this posting of yours. You made your spinnaker, I think, but is there a site which caters to our Typhoons for spinnakers?
ReplyDelete@William Mccoy I actually bought both of my Spinnakers on ebay. My small one is from an old Mercury class boat. It is a bit under sized I'd say but looks good. My Large Spinnaker is off a 22-25 ft boat and goes all the way to the mast head. I fly the large one like a genaker or asymmetric attaching one of the clews to a swivel forward of the fore stay. I purchased it with the intention of having to cut it down for the dory but it fits really nicely. You might check out Bacon Sails they will likely have something used that is not to pricey. I'm in the process of rigging a set off blocks all the way to the stern dedicated to running the spinnaker sheets. Thought off you when I was drilling through the taft rail the other day.
ReplyDeleteChris, I found your pics and comments on the compression post most helpful. Recently, I bought a Typhoon and this project is on the list.
ReplyDeleteQuestions - the wood blocks that rest on the keel, what is the correct height? 4.5 inches?
Also, how difficult is it to get the blocks in place from the V-berth access plate?
Thanks,
Pete W.
Pete for my boat 4.5 inches worked great. I do recall that pressing them in was a bit hard but I wanted them to be stiff to support the floor. The V-berth entry is the way to go for sure. It is pretty easy to access and press them down in. Getting the epoxy in place was a bit trickier I just pored my in but if I'd have been thinking I would pry use a syringe. I only use mine when I'm flying my full size spinnaker. William of Baggy Wrinkles <his blog is in the side bar. Also used this method I like the counter sink he did on the top plate. You might want to add that.
DeleteHi Chris. I'm a new owner of a Typhoon and I've read a lot of your (and Bill's blog) on Typhoons. Thanks to you both for all the great info. I'm going to put in a compression post too. I'm not on my boat right now, but I am in my shop and i'd like to make the top wood 'plate' for the compression post - what are dimensions of that top plate?
ReplyDeleteI can't measure since I'm not on my boat :(
Thank you, Lewis
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ReplyDeleteThanks I'm glad you enjoy my ramblings
DeleteI've had this post bookmarked for years and finally installed the mast support, as directed with slight modification. 4.5" blocks painted with botttom paint and screwed together with ss 3" screws were perfect for my 1974 weekender. I went through the more aft hole vs the bow locker bc i could more easily wedge it in bc it narrows as you move twd the bow. It was quite a reach to get my arm thru and the blocks far enough forward. I brushed on jb weld clear Epoxy Syringe into the corners of wood where it met the keel and floor. I cut out the upper wood block with a whole saw bit. The setup is tight but could be tighter. Thanks for the cheap, easy option to an annoying problem!
ReplyDeleteSuper I'm glad that worked out so well for you.
DeleteWe have a '74 Ty Weekender that we are in the process of restoring. The deck around the front and forward sides of the cabin top are showing significant sagging, perhaps an inch or more, probably from the rig being overtightened in the past (curiously, no cracking anywhere though). So, we are needing a compression post, likely as a permanent installation. Chris, a few questions: 1. What year is/was your Typhoon? 2. In the space under the cabin sole where you added your hardwood blocks, is the underside of the sole more or less parallel to the top of the keel? 3. Is there any reason other than the obvious aesthetics not to just cut a hole in the sole directly under the mast step underside for the bottom end of the post? 4. Given the sagging already evident and the jacking up we'll need to do, we might need to spread the load out from side to side under the mast step with a longer block of teak. Has anybody tried this? Finally, since our installation will require first jacking up the sagging cabin/deck, does anyone have any experience or advice regarding doing that? Thanks for any help you can offer!
ReplyDeleteMine was a 78. The blocks were under the cabin sole. My 78 also had the saddle supports. I don't think Cape Dory started putting those in until later on. Best of luck with your restoration.
DeleteThanks, Chris. What do you mean by "saddle supports?" Our cabin top (on the inside) has what appears to be a beam or lateral reinforcement of some sort glassed into it that transfers at least some of the load outboard. Is that what you mean?
DeleteThe later models had an additional internal frame on the hull just over the chain plates
DeleteHmm...I wonder if that may explain what we're seeing on our 1974 boat. Across the front of the cabin, where it meets the foredeck, that deck has clearly sunk, or been pushed downward by an overtightened rig, and just inboard of the stays on each side, the deck slopes downward and forward toward that same low point. If our's does have such a "saddle" type of beam, running across the cabin under the mast step, then downward at each side of the cabin, then outward toward the gunnel and chainplates, that would explain why the deck looks the way it does. Like that entire beam/saddle was tipped forward and pushed down by the rig being overtightened. We're planning on trying to gently and slowly jack this up from underneath, then installing a post to keep it up.
DeleteWe are in the process of restoring our '74 Ty Weekender. The front to the cabin top and deck around it show significant sagging, perhaps as much as an inch or more down from its original position. We want to carefully and gradually jack that back up and add a compression post to keep it there. Does anyone have any advice about doing that?
ReplyDeleteGreat photos and description. This is next on our Ty project list!
ReplyDeleteTodd Casey had asked why not simply cut a hole in the cabin sole and run the compression post down through it. Would there be anything wrong with that? Seems easier than blindly trying to wedge a block under the sole.
ReplyDeleteYou could I guess, but it will be harder to remove also I think it will look a bit chopped.
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