Snapped Tabernacle

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Snapped Tabernacle

Postby Harbourman » Fri Jul 16, 2021 4:40 pm

Hi All,
First post and I'm borderline about to walk the plank. The first three hours into owning my new (used) DS2 17 foot ODay, I snapped the tabernacle. I was trying to step the mast solo, and had the mainstay on but couldn't get the ring into the pin and it slipped, and...well...the mast flew backward and bent/snapped the tabernacle. I have included pictures, and I'm hoping that the damage isn't too bad. I have a Marine shop that has a tabernacle I can replace with, I'm just afraid there is more damage than a novice like me knows about. For example, the picture of the mast seems like it's chipped where they would have to replace a part.
TAB1.jpeg
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Attachments
tab4.jpeg
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Mast3.jpeg
Mast3.jpeg (202.77 KiB) Viewed 5551 times
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Re: Snapped Tabernacle

Postby Harbourman » Fri Jul 16, 2021 4:43 pm

MAST1.jpeg
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Mast3.jpeg
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mast2.jpeg
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here are some more pics
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Re: Snapped Tabernacle

Postby tomodda » Fri Jul 16, 2021 6:54 pm

Hi Harbourman!

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new (to you) DaySailer! Congrats also with walking away from your first major sailing mishap with no major damage to you or the boat. All is well, and better to get it (fear of breaking stuff) out of the way right off the bat.

OK, so deep breath! On a Daysailer, like most stayed marconi rigs, the stays are there to hold the sails up, the mast is there for pretty and to give the stays someplace to attach to on the top end. So don't worry about the chip in the bottom of the aluminum tube, that's cosmetic and also sitting in a place that has no real stress on it, below the rivets. I joke about the mast being decorative, but the fact is that it's mostly in compression: the stays pull it down into the bottom of the boat (mast step on the keelson), the side to side and fore/aft forces ON THE MAST are minimal, relatively speaking. Force ON THE STAYS is another story, they're carrying the force of the wind on the sails to your hull. So, you just have to make sure that there is a decent connection between the top and bottom parts of your mast, so that the compression force (downwards) doesn't go off somewhere else besides directly down to your mast step at the bottom of the boat. Got it?

So, let's discuss what looks broken. As I wrote, don't worry about the chip in the heel of the top part of the mast. The forces from mast to tabernacle are carried by the rivets holding the the dark grey "shoe" at the bottom of the mast, which screws to the tabernacle (the bolts you bent). Obviously, you need a new tabernacle, I have a spare if your local marine store tries to gouge you. More importantly, you chipped the back of the "shoe." Is there enough "meat" left on it to make a good connection between the shoe and bolt? In theory, you could get away with just the one bolt (the forward one), but it's good to have belt and suspenders (i.e. I wouldn't sail with just the one). If there isn't enough left of the aft hole in the shoe, can you get a good grip for the aftmost bolt using a washer (above the shoe)? If the answer is no to the above, then I'm afraid you'll need a new "shoe" ... talk to Rudy at D&R. Replacing the shoe will involve removing the old rivets and putting on new rivets, Greenlake can guide you better than I. I THINK I might have those shoes in my odd parts box, they don't fit my mast and may not fit yours. We can cross that bridge when we get there.

Lastly, let me share my mast raising method with you. Took me a while to figure out, but USE THE JIB HALYARD! I connect the top of the mast to the bottom using just the rear pin, leaving me with a forward facing "hinge", I'm sure you do the same. But then I take the Jib Halyard and clip it to the stem fitting... same place where the forestay goes, clip it on the same way you'd normally clip it to the head of the jib, but clip it to the AFT hole in the stem fitting. Then put the mast up while pulling DOWN on the jib halyard, same as if you were raising the jib, but instead you're raising the mast. Remember, you MUST secure both side stays before you raise the mast (ask me how I know that...). The mast itself is quite light, around 40 lbs, the problem is the 20 feet of moment arm (leverage)! So use the jib halyard to deal with the moment arm. In practice, I raise the mast one handed to my shoulder and then push it up into position with my body and only use the jib halyard to snug down the mast before next steps. But when I was weaker (I've been on a long road of recovery from health problems), I'd walk the mast up from aft forward and yank it up the last 3 feet or so with the halyard, it's a big help! Now that the mast is up, snug the jib halyard down as much as you can (pull it TIGHT). Sweat it! (look up sweating a halyard, basically you pull it sideways at the base of the mast). Once it's good and snug, then it's acting the same as your forestay, you can let go of the mast! Put the forward pin in the tabernacle. Now take the forestay and clip it to the FORWARD hole on the stem fitting. If you snugged the halyard down enough, there should be no pressure, you wont have to pull on the stay at all to the pin thru. If you did not snug it down enough, you can usually "sweat" the jib halyard at the stemhead, deflect it with your elbow to take up that critical last inch. You'll see what I mean once you do it (practice at home!). And that's it, once the forestay is secure you can loose the jib halyard in preparation for attaching it to the head of your jib. My next step in rigging the boat is, in fact, to hank on the jib then take the jib halyard shackle off the stemhead and onto the jib. attach my sheets and the jib's done! You'll get the hang of it.

OK, let us know how your tabernacle repair goes. Good luck!

Tom
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Re: Snapped Tabernacle

Postby Harbourman » Fri Jul 16, 2021 7:50 pm

Tom,

Thank you for your detailed and empathetic response! Extremely helpful (for my mental health especially) and detailed information that I need. Also, thank you for the Mast Raising tips, I will def. do that. The sad reality is that in my over-exuberance and excitement, I missed so many simple critical steps; who tries to raise a mast, single-handed, ON THE DOWNWARD ANGLE OF THE BOAT RAMP? Me, that's who. I thought I could muscle through it all. And I didn't have my Pins ready to go, and I put both tabernacle Pins in instead of just the rear one, and, and, and.

I live in MA, and already spoke with Rudy on the phone at DR and will be at his front door when the shop opens tomorrow. That being said, I really appreciate your offer for the spare parts. I have detailed videos and pic on my phone so I'll know more once I speak with DR in the AM. I'm really glad to hear there isn't major damage- and yes I think I will most likely need new "shoes" for the mast heel- hoping Rudy has those as well. That chip is on the bottom end of the mast where the Tabernacle mount goes- I'm hoping that a new shoe can be put in despite that chip was my concern.

I will certainly keep this updated- and again thanks for your quick reply, saved me some additional alcohol consumption this evening ;)

Harbs
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Re: Snapped Tabernacle

Postby GreenLake » Sat Jul 17, 2021 12:24 am

Looks like between Tom online and Rudy (at his shop) you'll be in good hands.

Raising a mast on an incline isn't as stupid as it may sound; I do it all the time with my keel-stepped mast. The trick is to ensure that you have positive control against it falling back. As mentioned, the jib halyard is great for that, and with the incline, your mast will tend to fall away from it, so in a strange way, it's more stable in the interim positions than on a level surface.

Same in my case. Even when the mast is vertical to the boat it is still tipped back and I don't have to switch between pushing and pulling to guide it. So, gravity can work for you!

Talk to Rudy about fixing the new mast shoe. I'm sure he'll tell you a riveting tale!
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: Snapped Tabernacle

Postby Harbourman » Sat Jul 17, 2021 12:35 pm

OK- UPDATE: Went to see Rudy at D&R. What an amazing resource!! We're so lucky to have someone like that... a huge barn full of parts and a huge brain full of knowledge!

So, got a new Tabernacle set up. Have new knowledge about how to remove old parts and 'drill and tap' for new shoes. I'll be attempting these repairs today.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Harbs
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Re: Snapped Tabernacle

Postby Harbourman » Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:07 pm

Well, I spent all day trying to drill out the rivets. Super difficult, even with several cobalt bits. Like break multiple bits difficult I finally did get through them, but they didn't "break" on the inside and the Shoe is just as firmly held as before. It's almost like they are melted into the aluminum shoe. I don't want to apply too much pressure because I'm afraid of damaging the mast. Any suggestions would be welcome!
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Re: Snapped Tabernacle

Postby tomodda » Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:34 pm

Photos? Hard to say without taking a look. I suspect you didn't drill out the entire diameter of the rivet.
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Re: Snapped Tabernacle

Postby jalmeida51 » Sat Jul 17, 2021 5:44 pm

Drill out the center using a number 30 drill. It appears by your photos the rivets are 1/8 inch diameter. With a sharp cold chisel cut off the head of the rivet. Using a number 30 drill you don't have to worry about elongating the rivet hole. Number 30 drill is slightly smaller than 1/8 rivet.

John
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Re: Snapped Tabernacle

Postby GreenLake » Sat Jul 17, 2021 7:18 pm

If you've used a larger than the recommended bit and successfully drilled through the connection between head and shank, you should be able to use a nail punch to drive the remainder in.

What I don't get is why anyone would want to use SS rivets for this purpose. Anyone here knows a good reason?
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: Snapped Tabernacle

Postby Harbourman » Sun Jul 18, 2021 2:05 pm

VICTORY! At least in this small battle :)
These things were Tough! tip for NASA- build the next space shuttle with those babies! So now I have to Drill and Tap the new setup in. I'm assuming that I need new holes, certainly for the upper mast shoe, and probably for the lower mast shoe since I basically had to grind the holes bigger to get these rivets out. Thanks, guys for virtually look over my shoulder for me!!

Pics or it didn't happen :P
victory1.jpeg
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victory2.jpeg
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Re: Snapped Tabernacle

Postby tomodda » Mon Jul 19, 2021 12:24 am

Yay! And what a pain in the butt....

I find myself saying that at least once a month with my boat, more in the winter (refit time). Here's to getting out on the water ASAP!
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