I have been thinking about posting an update for a few days. I am concerned that this may read like whining and complaining. So I am going to try to focus on things that I have made me feel thankful recently.

I feel fortunate that I was able to get one of the four mooring balls at the new marina. They are much less expensive than a slip and a good excuse to have two boats. The Sun Dolphin Water Tender is fun to row around. Unfortunately the marina has a use it or lose it sort of policy. If I don't keep a boat on the ball I lose the spot and the next person gets it -- even after I pay for a season. I think this is good rule overall but for me right now it means I have a sailboat with no rig. I took the original rig off before launching.

I would also like to thank whoever designed my Tohatsu Sailpro engine. The shift linkage pulls up on the lower unit to shift into forward gear. Turns out the shift linkage is strong enough to hold the lower unit up and in gear. This was important when somehow I ended up in the middle of the harbor with both of the bolts that should be holding the lower unit missing. Last time those bolts were intentionally removed waswhen I had a marine service company replace the impeller two years ago.

I am thankful that I am using slow epoxy hardener. The local West Marine was out of resin so I ordered it online. The 'can' arrived with a big dent in the side. This seemed to be only a cosmetic problem until I was pumping out the second batch of epoxy for the bi-axial cloth. The bent angle of the top of the can seemed to put some strange stress on the mini pump. The center of the pump pushed through the part that screws on the can and the pump came apart in two pieces. One part was left floating in the can and the other on the floor of the garage. So it was good that the slow hardener gave me some time to throw out the mess, fix the pump and carefully measure a new pot.

Lastly I am thankful that I do not have to rely on my skills with fiberglass to earn a living. I need to decide if the voids left under the bi-axial cloth need to be cut out and filled back in properly and consider getting a surgeon to remove the glass fiber that is now epoxied into my thumb.

Still sounds like complaining, I think. But I am happy to be making progress.

Scott.

David T: “The tops of these tapered tubes are generally parallel for a short distance, to enable the lamp-post makers to fit the light more easily, so in fact, getting a good fit for a short extension is no problem.”

That is good news and negates some (though perhaps not all) of the reasons for suggesting that a larger diameter heel plug extension might be better or easier to make than a small diameter topmast extension.

I sure wish we could get these lamp posts in New Zealand.

Not to contradict David Th, but if you are concerned about weight and want the top to remain light, you also have the option of inserting a somewhat heavier plug into the bottom of your tube instead, and extending it a few inches. If the tube is already tapered, I would personally prefer the extended heel plug, which, by the way, would also be much easier to make. This is because the walls of the tube will be parallel at the bottom, easy to fit a plain round plug. But if the lamp pole is tapered, fitting an extension to the top is quite... well...  I don't even know you would do it.

I agree with David Th, also from unhappy experience - it is better to have the mast too long than too short. If you need to keep your options open for retrospective changes, the bottom of the mast is easier to modify than the top, especially after you have made your masthead fittings. This, too, points to a wooden heel plug extension rather than a masthead extension.

(The beauty of a wooden top section is when you just have a parallel-sided tube. The plug-extension is then easy to fit to the top, and you have the advantage of being able to put some taper into the top of the mast.)

My lamp pole arrived. For some reason the 25' pole I ordered is actually only 24' 8" long. Not sure what is going on there. I need to measure all the other dimensions to see if anything else is off. I have no idea how I could verify the alloy and the temper. I suppose I have already decided to just trust the vendor on that.

At some point I determined that 24' was the absolutely minimum length for my mast. Hopefully that was correct.

I am able to lift it and carry it around. It is not easy but I can do it.

Pete was making tabernacles for larger, heavier, stiffer, ocean-going boats. I wouldn't use more than 3/8" studding on a 22ft boat intended for lake sailing. If set in epoxy, with large washers under the nuts, there can be no doubt about the overall strength of the assembly.