West Wight Potter Owners Home Port _______________________________________________________________________________________________ |
| Mast Slot Gate Latch by Inventor Tom Luque Owner of P-19 JoJoma |
This prototype Mast Slot Gate Latch (patent pending) is easy to make using a
Dremel tool with cut-off wheel.
Safer & shorter setup time: Mast Slot Gate Assembly provides a shorter
setup time, by not having to completely unwrap the sail from the boom, and
prevents the wind from catching a raised sail by now installing the sail
directly to the base of the mast.
Two videos of the Mast Gate Latch can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8mtpPmmPd4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=570F4HEtvjE
The Stainless Steel (SS) tube was purchased at ACE, Parkrose Hardware,
Vancouver, Washington. They provide the best popcorn and coffee while I'm
brain-storming ideas, and have been very helpful finding parts.
The SS tube has a 1/4" O.D. and is 12 inches long. Manufactured by KS
Engineering, Stock# 7155. It is a type 304/3041 stainless. It cost $6.49.
My 1989 Potter 19 came with a beefier mast having a dimension of about 3"x 4".
This year I have a new mast from International Marine, which is smaller,
measuring: 2 5/8" x 3 1/2".
The SS tube will fit both masts types by adding one extra step ( * ) to fit a larger
mast, and will work on rectangle and biased cut Mast Slots.
If you have a Mast Slot like my old 1989 mast, which had the slot stretched wide
to except the sail slugs and boom slide, use wood and hammer to bang the
aluminum lips back to a normal slot dimension.
International Marine's drawing shows a 3 inch slot with a 1/2 inch depth. The slot
is cut on an angled bias.
STEPS TAKEN:
Note: The Mast Slot, cut in my new International Marine mast, measured
2.8-inches long.
Materials needed:
1. 1/4" SS tube
2. 1/8" x 12" shock cord
3. Blue crimp Eye connector, non-magnetic marine type. Yellow type is lose
fitting.
4. Pop-Rivet, aluminum 5/32" x 1/4" in length
TOOLS needed:
5. 1/8" drill bit (SS tube)
6. 5/32" drill bit (mast hole for pop-rivet)
7. 3/16" drill bit (de-burr tube)
8. 15/64" drill bit (shank to expand tube slot)
9. Drill press or hand drill
10. Dremel with a cutting wheel
11. Center punch (to mark drilling)
12. Small vice with a V notch to hold tube
13. Pliers
14. Small fine pointed file
Use a Dremel tool, with a cut-off wheel, to cut a length of SS tube to 3 5/8th-inches.
Mark a center line on the length of tube. At the halfway point, Center Punch the
metal and drill 1/8" hole. De-burr inside of tube with the 3/16" drill bit and hold
the tube with pliers so you don't cut yourself if the bit snags on a burr. De-burring
prevents edges from cutting the shock cord mounted in the hole.
Use the Dremel to cut a centered slot on each end on the center line, 5/8th" long
from each end. Grind a parallel slot straight down into the tube. The wall edges
will be knife like, so round the edges so as not to cut a wet finger.
Using a very small file I cleaned off burrs and remove all sharp edges.
Take one end of the shock and pull down the outside cover to expose 1/4" the
rubber cord inside and cut it out. Use a lighter to lightly melt the tip of the sleeve
and quickly roll the hot ends into a small point with your fingers (Don't do it if you
have tender finger tips) to make it easier to force the pointed cord tip through the
narrow sleeve of the electrical eyelet.
Push the other cord end, with a back and forth action while feeding it through the
1/8" hole till it exits one of the ends.
Tie a snug figure-8 stopper-knot on the exited end, then pull the cord and knot
back into the tube, the knot will keep it from pulling out through the center hole.
I removed the blue plastic sleeve from an eyelet connector and pop-riveted it to
the mast using 1/8" hole drilled into mast.
Last step is to set your stopper knot length at the eyelet, cut off excess, seal end
with a flame, done.
*In order for the gate to fit a larger mast slot lip, is to stretch the slot wider using a
15/64th drill bit and hammering the shank into the open slot.
I hope you are as thrilled as I am with the safety and ease of sail
using my Mast Slot Gate invention.
Tom Luque tomluque@gmail.com
Tom Luque is an inventor with patents for computer hand controllers, sold to 3rd
party computer companies. He has also developed other products for companies.
If you played Atari or Commodore computers during 1981, you may have used his
"Le Stick", the Worlds First one handed joystick.
Tom's hobby interest is working on his 1989 WWP-19, JoJoma, and mentoring
High School students in electronics.
Dremel tool with cut-off wheel.
Safer & shorter setup time: Mast Slot Gate Assembly provides a shorter
setup time, by not having to completely unwrap the sail from the boom, and
prevents the wind from catching a raised sail by now installing the sail
directly to the base of the mast.
Two videos of the Mast Gate Latch can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8mtpPmmPd4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=570F4HEtvjE
The Stainless Steel (SS) tube was purchased at ACE, Parkrose Hardware,
Vancouver, Washington. They provide the best popcorn and coffee while I'm
brain-storming ideas, and have been very helpful finding parts.
The SS tube has a 1/4" O.D. and is 12 inches long. Manufactured by KS
Engineering, Stock# 7155. It is a type 304/3041 stainless. It cost $6.49.
My 1989 Potter 19 came with a beefier mast having a dimension of about 3"x 4".
This year I have a new mast from International Marine, which is smaller,
measuring: 2 5/8" x 3 1/2".
The SS tube will fit both masts types by adding one extra step ( * ) to fit a larger
mast, and will work on rectangle and biased cut Mast Slots.
If you have a Mast Slot like my old 1989 mast, which had the slot stretched wide
to except the sail slugs and boom slide, use wood and hammer to bang the
aluminum lips back to a normal slot dimension.
International Marine's drawing shows a 3 inch slot with a 1/2 inch depth. The slot
is cut on an angled bias.
STEPS TAKEN:
Note: The Mast Slot, cut in my new International Marine mast, measured
2.8-inches long.
Materials needed:
1. 1/4" SS tube
2. 1/8" x 12" shock cord
3. Blue crimp Eye connector, non-magnetic marine type. Yellow type is lose
fitting.
4. Pop-Rivet, aluminum 5/32" x 1/4" in length
TOOLS needed:
5. 1/8" drill bit (SS tube)
6. 5/32" drill bit (mast hole for pop-rivet)
7. 3/16" drill bit (de-burr tube)
8. 15/64" drill bit (shank to expand tube slot)
9. Drill press or hand drill
10. Dremel with a cutting wheel
11. Center punch (to mark drilling)
12. Small vice with a V notch to hold tube
13. Pliers
14. Small fine pointed file
Use a Dremel tool, with a cut-off wheel, to cut a length of SS tube to 3 5/8th-inches.
Mark a center line on the length of tube. At the halfway point, Center Punch the
metal and drill 1/8" hole. De-burr inside of tube with the 3/16" drill bit and hold
the tube with pliers so you don't cut yourself if the bit snags on a burr. De-burring
prevents edges from cutting the shock cord mounted in the hole.
Use the Dremel to cut a centered slot on each end on the center line, 5/8th" long
from each end. Grind a parallel slot straight down into the tube. The wall edges
will be knife like, so round the edges so as not to cut a wet finger.
Using a very small file I cleaned off burrs and remove all sharp edges.
Take one end of the shock and pull down the outside cover to expose 1/4" the
rubber cord inside and cut it out. Use a lighter to lightly melt the tip of the sleeve
and quickly roll the hot ends into a small point with your fingers (Don't do it if you
have tender finger tips) to make it easier to force the pointed cord tip through the
narrow sleeve of the electrical eyelet.
Push the other cord end, with a back and forth action while feeding it through the
1/8" hole till it exits one of the ends.
Tie a snug figure-8 stopper-knot on the exited end, then pull the cord and knot
back into the tube, the knot will keep it from pulling out through the center hole.
I removed the blue plastic sleeve from an eyelet connector and pop-riveted it to
the mast using 1/8" hole drilled into mast.
Last step is to set your stopper knot length at the eyelet, cut off excess, seal end
with a flame, done.
*In order for the gate to fit a larger mast slot lip, is to stretch the slot wider using a
15/64th drill bit and hammering the shank into the open slot.
I hope you are as thrilled as I am with the safety and ease of sail
using my Mast Slot Gate invention.
Tom Luque tomluque@gmail.com
Tom Luque is an inventor with patents for computer hand controllers, sold to 3rd
party computer companies. He has also developed other products for companies.
If you played Atari or Commodore computers during 1981, you may have used his
"Le Stick", the Worlds First one handed joystick.
Tom's hobby interest is working on his 1989 WWP-19, JoJoma, and mentoring
High School students in electronics.
