Broken mast cleat
Probably during mast-lift one cleat got broken. Embarrassing situation as it is difficult to buy a replacement - modern cleats have different screw pitch.
Since I still have quite a bit of teak in my storage I took a bit (broken chair from Tze) and decided to carve my own cleat. Let’s see it as a first step into procedure of making wooden mast for Meritaten.
I’ve decided to make the cleat bigger and more massive. Not only because it’s wood but mainly due to ease of handling when working with halyards.
Cutting, carving and planing to get the basic shape.
Once I was happy with the shape I aligned the broken cleat to transfer hole pitch. It must be the same - mast has threaded holes waiting for the cleat of exactly this spacing.
Countersinking to hide mounting screws.
Sanding and smoothing all for the final step - oiling. I could have left teak “as is”, to let it become silver, but I’ve decided to try keeping it bright.
Final product, after oiling, looks good to me.