Broken Mast Partner ... pic

[Scott Mulford]

While stepping my mast on the water a power boat decided to gun it next to the pier I was tied to. This is the result:



Any help or advice in fixing this would be appreciated. I can't be the first to do such a thing. (ok maybe I am)

Please help me get my Daysailer back in the water.

[TIM WEBB]

Ouch!

Well, first lesson here is to always step the mast on the hard if at all possible, especially with a one piece mast ...

Second lesson, in major fiberglass repairs, I'll leave to the experts who have chimed in on similar threads in the past ... guys?

[K.C. Walker]

Scott,

Well, that's unfortunate. You didn't mention anyone being hurt and that's a good thing.

The fiberglass repair will be a little challenging but not out of the realm of do-it-yourself. While looking at it I think the way I would approach it would be as a two-step repair for the structural part and then cosmetics. I would make the part and then install it.

I think what would make sense in this situation is to make the collar with a flange as a part and then epoxy the whole part in place. I would start by making the flange by laying up some glass on a flat surface, probably just a couple of layers to start with. I would then cut the opening for the mast partner in the flange. To start the collar I would lay up one layer of tape and while the epoxy was still green form it inside the opening of the flange to make a mold for the rest of the collar. I would make the collar out of fiberglass tape by wrapping the mold with a few concentric rings of tape and then have a bunch of tabs cut so that I could tab those concentric rings to the flange and then wrap more concentric rings, repeating that process until I had built up the collar to the right size. I would finish off by adding a couple more layers of glass over the tabbing on the flange. That would give me a part. Of course you can sand and shape this part to make it look good before installing.

I would then cut out the entire collar out of your boat and install the new one. If I could line up the cracks that go past the collar, that would be great. Grind away from the inside to make a good bond for the flange especially at the crack. Use some thickened epoxy to install the part and you're ready to go sailing. The cosmetic part would just be filler and paint.

If you are not familiar with using epoxy I would highly recommend reading the West System repair manual. http://westsystem.com/ss/assets/HowTo-P ... enance.pdf

[ctenidae]

KC's got a good idea there, but I think a simpler construction would be to build the collar around your actual mast, using it as a mandril. If you make the collar around your actual mast, it'll be easier to get the shape right.

I built a guide tube, about 10 inches long, that I attached under the collar and use as a guide the get the mast to the step.I wrapped my mast in plastic, then laid the fiberglass around the mast, then covered that with plastic and wrapped it tightly with tape all around. it takes a little jiggling to get it off, but if you put 5-6 layers of plastic on first it gives enough extra diameter to slide the cured collar off.

You could then attach the collar to thedeck in whatever manner fits best.

[Scott Mulford]

I am thankful no one was hurt. It's only a boat ... right?

I like the idea of a guide under the cubby to drop the mast through. Does the tube allow you to adjust the rake of the mast or have you chosen 1 position and keep it there?

Thanks for the replies. Time to learn all about fiberglass. Thanks for the link to the westsystem manual. I like the idea of making a new part and using the mast as a mold for the hole.

Funny how much time sailing is spent out of the water.

I'll keep the board posted.

[GreenLake]

I think K.C.'s suggestion is potentially overkill. If you grind away damaged laminate, I should think you could re-build the damaged area in place - by using the mast as part of the mold, as suggested by ctenidae. Wrapping that section of the mast in a stiff, thin sheet of plastic would be essential - as would be supporting the area around the mast from below - perhaps with a bit of wax-paper covered plywood.

On my boat, the PO installed an aluminum disk over the collar, held by bolts, backed by two plywood plates below the opening.



Attached to that is a hinge to which he attached a guiding tube. The neat thing with that is that you insert the mast while lying flat, then it holds the mast foot near the collar as you tilt it up, and finally, it acts like a guiding tube, positioning the mast as you slide it down. (It has some give, so the positioning isn't perfect, but in return it's forgiving of slight misalignment when the mast is raised.)

This points to another suggestion how to reinforce the opening. You could cut an oval, metal ring (3/16 or even 1/4" aluminum) and bolt that through the collar into a backing plate of some form (plywood, for example). That would more securely hold your mast, and add strength the the general area.

You may then not have to rebuild the laminate in place, other than cosmetic repairs, because the strength would come from other elements. A backing plate, epoxied underneath the deck (and encased in a bit of glass) would stiffen the deck around the mast partners and transfer any loads widely. An oval ring (or as in my case, a disk with an oval opening) bolted to the opening would take up point-loads quite well and prevent further cracking.

Just ideas.