blocking up mast base

[MookaCB]

My DS2 must have been demasted by a PO. The mast is at least 6" short. Has anyone added a wood/aluminium/etc block under the mast base to regain the height? Im mostly concerned with raising the boom back up by gaining that height.

I am thinking of getting into racing next year so i want to remain class legal. I will have to move my shroud attachment points, halyard pullies and spreaders down when i raise the mast step. Do i need to plug weld the old holes or are they ok to leave open? I have a hinged straight gold mast.

Thanks for any advise.

[TIM WEBB]

Nope, you're in luck! Since you have a hinge, all you need to do is get a piece of mast extrusion from http://www.dwyermast.com. Get one a bit longer than you think you will need, and then fine-tune it down to where it works just right with your standing rigging and boom height preference.

[GreenLake]

+1 on getting the extrusion and not messing with kludges.

[MookaCB]

I just tried to get a 3 foot piece from dwyer and their website would only let me order 19' based on blank size. maybe need to call them?

Also, what moving the mast fittings? Do i need to fill the holes?

[Alan]

I ordered a 3-foot section of mast extrusion from Dwyer for the same problem. Here's the link:

https://www.dwyermast.com/items.asp?cat ... M-284+Mast

The trick to ordering is to ignore the stock lengths listed on the left-hand side of the page, and select the exact length you need from the right-hand side of the page.

By the way, they have very good customer service. I ordered a length of mast stub that was close in design to my mast, but not quite right. Someone at Dwyer, familiar with Daysailers, spotted this and emailed asking if I really wanted the one I ordered, and suggested an alternative. They were right; I was ordering the wrong type, and ended up getting the right one when I changed my order to the one they recommended.

I don't know the answer to the question about filling holes, but I'll bet someone here does.

[willyhays]

I'm not understanding something here: why do you have to relocate the spreaders, etc? Don't you just have to lengthen the shrouds and forestay?

[ldeikis]

I also just ordered a 3' section from Dwyer for the same reason. I found the online ordering would charge me a full length regardless of what I entered for length, but the person on the phone assured me I would only be actually charged for the 3 feet I ordered. He was right and it was an easy fix. This did move my mast hinge a little higher of course--it makes it slightly easier to step the mast, as a couple of flotation cushions on the transom are now enough to angle the mast clear of the cuddy lip when hinged down, but I think this also makes the hinge slightly more stressed. My feeling is that with the shrouds intact, the hinge will be fine, and when a shroud goes you're screwed anyway. Another unintended consequence is now my jib sheets snarl on the hinge in gusty conditions, whereas before they never did.

I might also suggest replacing shrouds AND rivets etc at this point. It is VERY frustrating to go through this project and then have the rivets shear on the hounds and send the damn thing down again. I figured a good inspection would do, but have learned my lesson and now own a nice wishbone riveter and some shiny SS rivets I also now use aluminum rivets to hold the hinge to the mast in hopes that they shear rather than tear a bite out of the mast if it ever happens again.

Luke

[willyhays]

If you are concerned about the rivets tearing the mast base in the event of a dismasting, you could consider eliminating the rivets altogether, and replace them with two quick release pins (with the spring-loaded ball end), one port and one starboard. Once you have raised the mast and tightened the shrouds and forestay the pins are no longer necessary; the compression from the rigging would keep the mast securely fixed on the mast step. At that point the pins can be removed. If the mast goes over, the mast base would be more likely to simply pop off of the mast step.

Another approach would be to affix the mast to the step using a fastener that would be strong enough to raise and lower the mast, but weak enough to function as a shear pin, something like a nylon screw, or maybe a very small diameter aluminum rivet.

[GreenLake]

My DS2 must have been dismasted by a PO. The mast is at least 6" short.

Which end of the mast got shortened.

Im mostly concerned with raising the boom back up by gaining that height.

That sounds like the loss is somewhere below the boom.

I am thinking of getting into racing next year so i want to remain class legal.

Check out the main site (http://www.dayailer.org) and look for the class hand book (specifications) that has a complete list of all the measurements that you must adhere to).

I will have to move my shroud attachment points, halyard pullies and spreaders down when i raise the mast step.

Why would you need to do that? From your own account, the lost length is below the boom, so restoring this, the spreaders, hounds etc would all be in the correct position.

Do i need to plug weld the old holes or are they ok to leave open?

This makes it appear that their position wasn't moved by the PO as a result of the suspected dismasting. Could it be that the PO shortened the shrouds? If so, the correct thing would be to restore them to their original length by getting a replacement set made (or by ordering one from D&R Marine - from their list of DS specific parts).

Replacing the shrouds occasionally is a good idea, anyway, they don't last forever.

But I would want to make sure that your mast really is too short. Just measured mine, and it came to 24'6" from the mast step (which itself is about 1"-2" because I have a mast jack on my DS1). So, in the raised position, the mast would be about 24' 8" above the top of the keelson or about 25' above the bottom of the hull. With the different types of mast step, there's some (small) variability in actual mast lengths among the different models for the DS; the class rules therefore govern only the distances above the deck. The length of the mast is not controlled, but the highest point the sail can be hoisted to, as well as the location of the hounds (attachments for the shrouds).

The latter are supposed to be 15'3" above the deck. If raising your mast would make them come higher than that, your mast would have lost 6" off the top, which is a bit unusual, but, of course, not impossible.

So, before we go deeper into the advice here, let's confirm where the lost 6" come from.

[MookaCB]

First, thanks for all the responses.

I did more measuring this afternoon and they are below. It looks like everything but the spinnaker halyard sheave is 5" too low. That makes me think that the mast was shortened from the hinge or bottom, but if I raise the mast step my shrouds will be too short.

A couple of thoughts, I could buy a piece of mast and replace the stub ~$50 + shipping, I could use a nice block of hark wood, free-cheap, or go all out and make something that would act as a mast Jack and have some adjustment to allow the step to be moved aft to help induce mast bend, a long garage project costing who knows.

So it only looks like I need to love my spinnaker halyard block and eye strap. Do I fill those holes with something?

The shrouds must have been custom made because they are going to be too short once the project is complete. I work with wire rope and have a lot of experience inspecting it. The shrouds look good. so I may try to find hardware to extend the length.

[Alan]

I had the same problem with short shrouds once I installed a longer mast stub - a mystery, since the spreaders are now at the height specified in the Daysailer manual on this forum. I got the shrouds from D&R, so I'm confident that they're the right length. They're nearly new so I didn't want to replace them. I added four links of stainless steel chain per side.

[GreenLake]

I did more measuring this afternoon and they are below. It looks like everything but the spinnaker halyard sheave is 5" too low. That makes me think that the mast was shortened from the hinge or bottom, but if I raise the mast step my shrouds will be too short.

Weird about the spinnaker block. Perhaps added by the PO after the mast was shortened? Whatever, if you race in class-sanctioned events, you'll need to move it down. Someone mentioned having put rivets (aluminum, closed) into the holes. Sealing up the holes is definitely good, don't know whether the rivets will help dissipating stresses around the holes to reduce the chance of them being a weak spot.

So it only looks like I need to love my spinnaker halyard block and eye strap. Do I fill those holes with something?

In fact, I would almost like to suggest to you to leave the current strap and just add a new, lower one. The reason being that you might want to play with something like the UPS sail for non-race outings. (See the long thread on the UPS).

A couple of thoughts, I could buy a piece of mast and replace the stub ~$50 + shipping, I could use a nice block of hark wood, free-cheap, or go all out and make something that would act as a mast Jack and have some adjustment to allow the step to be moved aft to help induce mast bend, a long garage project costing who knows.

Your time, your money. A mast jack is a quick way to get tension on the rig, a Highfield lever on the forestay also works, but then is not as adjustable. Speaking of adjustments, I generally use a bit higher tension in stronger winds, but I've not managed to "dial-in" this setting properly, so I'm not sure I'm getting the full benefit of it. A mast stub replacement would offer fewer adjustments, but that can be a virtue. In other words, your choice.

The shrouds must have been custom made because they are going to be too short once the project is complete. I work with wire rope and have a lot of experience inspecting it. The shrouds look good. so I may try to find hardware to extend the length.

OK, it's on your head, then. Expansion links ought to work, at least as a temporary fix. If yours are still the 3/32" there would be another reason for an upgrade, because there's a strong recommendation to go to 1/8". Depends a bit on where you sail and the conditions there. Saltwater and stronger winds would argue for upgrade and frequent replacements, while in the opposite conditions you might get away longer with the status quo. But you may be in a position to best decide your own course of action here, so I'll leave you to it.

[MookaCB]

I sail in the Portland OR area. Mainly Vancouver lake, and a little on the Columbia river. Winds on the lake can be gusty and usually are 5-15 knots if I had to guess.

[GreenLake]

Looked it up in Wikipedia, that lake sure looks shallow. So, you're not in saltwater, which should give you a bit more time on your shrouds, then. Do let us know what solution you implemented and how it's working out for you.

[MookaCB]

I spent some time at Home Depot today and came up with a $20 possible solution.

I used a plastic(ish) post base ($11) and an inverted galvanized pier block post base ($7) to act as the mast jack. I secured it to the same two holes on the cuddly floor. I will drill a 3/4" hole in my mast step casting to accept the threaded rod. By drilling additional holes in the plastic base I am able to move the mast step fore and aft in 1/4" increments.

Does anyone see any fatal flaws here?

GL, there are some very shallow parts of the lake but I think I have found most of them. There is also a little sailing club located on the lake that I am looking at joining.