Mast Update Letter From Southern Spars

Dear Melges 24 Owners - After spending much time at the recent 2007 World Championships and after a thorough analysis of the Melges 24 mast sheave box problems, we have a plan to minimize the problem for you the Melges 24 owners.

We are now quite confident that our recent mistakes in fitting the sheave box has affected no more than 10% of the masts produced over the last two years.

Only masts with a serial number of 900 or over are affected.

There are no safety issues involved.

The best retrofit is fitting the new design sheave pin.
We request all owners of masts with serial number over 900 to contact us so we can courier them a replacement pin.

The mast ID# is engraved on the front of the mast about 100mm above the base.
Any mast purchased after January 2005 should be changed. This includes all ‘black’ clear finish masts.

If your mast is possibly one of the ones affected, then unfortunately, we urge you not to use your mast until you have a new pin, as there is a possibility of the mast damage.

If you believe you may have an affected mast, please contact Graeme at graeme@southernspars.co.za and he will immediately send you simple installation instructions and a new sheave pin. It's very important that you e-mail us the details at the bottom of this message to ensure we have the required information to ship you the pin.
You should expect your new pin within 1 week of contacting us, so please respond if they do not arrive.
The task itself should take no more than about 10 minutes with the mast down.

If you think your sheavebox already has a problem please do not continue using the mast and contact us urgently.
There are two possible signs of this.
If the sheavebox has broken loose you will probably notice a slight loss in rig tension, so that when you check your rig set up the tuning numbers will have suddenly changed. The second is that the filler over the screws holding the sheavebox in place will have broken loose.

It is very easy to repair but continued use of the mast could cause serious damage.

Please don't hesitate to contact me at john.clinton@southernspars.com if you have questions or concerns. Our goal at Southern is to get you through this potential problem as soon as possible with as little effort.

I apologize for the error and the inconvenience we will have caused for some of you. This error has redoubled our efforts at ensuring mistakes will never happen again.

Yours truly,

John Clinton.

General Manager
Southern Spars- One Design

Melges 24: Request for replacement Sheave pin. - Please e-mail this information to graeme@southernspars.co.za

Name:
Delivery Address:
Contact Phone #:
Mast ID# (if Known):
Date of Purchase:
Boat #:

Please send these details to: graeme@southernspars.co.za