My aluminum mast is now 40 years old I have never painted or waxed it. It sort of a deep gun metal color I inspect it every season It looks ok no signs of corrosion I did replace all the standing and running rigging within the last 5 years. My philosiphy has always been, If it ain`t broke don`t fix it. How long can I expect it to last? Is it time for a new mast or do I wait for the inevitable something to happen Opinions would be welcome.
40 year old mast
- Thread starter bffatcat
- Start date
Well if you are going to replace the mast because it is 40 years old why not replace the whole boat? Seriously, your mast and keel are likely the longest lasting items on your boat. Like you said if it aint broken....
Maybe some metal engineers can way in but if age condemns an aluminum mast a lot of us are in trouble!
Maybe some metal engineers can way in but if age condemns an aluminum mast a lot of us are in trouble!
A spar manufacturer near me will inspect my mast for $600-700 bucks. I am not exactly sure what they look for, but at $90/hour, they certainly do a lot of looking!
Yup...
There is a DC3 that flies weekdays to Catalina once or twice a day from Long Beach (CA) airport. That's tough short-haul quick-cycle duty. She's probably as old or older than me (older than dirt)
Rick-I flew on a DC-3 around over Iceland in 1962. No telling how old that bird was. The DC -3 also flew "the Hump" during WW II. What-1942, 1943?
Tough old birds.
Tough old birds.
A few thoughts. The mast does not know how old it is. Other than looking for obvious signs of corrosion I'd look hard at any areas of high stress or where there is relative motion between parts that might break the anodize and cause fretting. These are areas most likely to propagate a crack. Anywhere there is dissimilar metals attached to the mast is a potential corrosion site. Beyond looking at that a good check would be to inspect for any fracturing. The best method is to use Fluorescent Penetrant Inspection (FPI) but a suitable method is to use dye checking which is a little less sensitive but still used extensively in industry. Not all cracks are visible to the naked eye so a dye is used to locate the cracks and a developer allows you to see them. FPI would require large equipment, a dark environment, ultraviolet lights, while Dye Checking can be done without a lot of special equipment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dye_penetrant_inspection
In airplanes fatigue determines airworthiness. I've inspected the inside of crankshafts, and most other parts, struts and so on. Look for signs of fatigue - they're usually very small cracks, some can be seen by eye and some with dye. clean the part very well with something that does not cause abrasion - the abrasion lines could look a lot like cracks beginning or mask ones that are there. In a crankshaft I cleaned the inside then used a tiny mirror through the bore - your mast will probably all be outside inspection but the mast is thin enough that even small cracks should be visible. And I know that aluminum doesn't ring but if you tap it gently along its length all around you shouldn't fine any audio dead spots. Then of course the attach points as mentioned.
Hi, I would echo what some other folks said and take it a bit further. The aluminum mast was an incredible development in sailing due to reduced maintenance requirements, less weight aloft and reduced construction expense.... However, like FRP boats, many people think they will go on forever unattended to. I'm in the process of fully refurbing my third mast (for a '78 Columbia 8.7). My routine is to strip the spar completely, inspecting all the fitting and hardware as I go. Unexpected originally, I now think that this is the most important part, because I get to inspect all the bits closely. I have found otherwise undetectable corrosion of mast and or fittings, excess wear on tang holes and a few seriously corroded fasteners just waiting to fail. The fittings are a generally a combination of SS, plastic and aluminum with aluminum, SS and sometimes STEEL or bronze fasteners. Sometimes there is a barrier film to reduce corrosion between fitting and mast, but not usually and absolutely no barrier between fasteners and anything else. I've drilled out and grinded flat more fastenings than I would like, but you have no other way to know what's going on, unfortunately. I rarely find any signs of fatigue and only a couple of small cracks where holes were cut square (sharp corners of a cut hole make a great starting place for cracks for develop) just lucky, I guess. I'm a rigger and have seen much worse.
The masts will still have good anodized finishes in many areas, but many areas worn from halyard slap and other things. I therefore just refinish the whole mast. I sand it thoroughly to 320 grit , filling shallow wear areas with epoxy filler, and apply 2-3 coats of 2-part epoxy primer followed by 3-4 coats of 2-part LPU topside paint.
I've been very pleased with the results. The spars looks great and have a very durable finish. I then re-mount hardware and fittings-usually a combination of old and new bits. It is all bedded nicely, as appropriate, and fasteners are coated with Tef-Gel, a Teflon coating that isolates hardware from everything else to prevent corrosion. I've used it for years and almost always fasteners come free without major hassle.
I would highly recommend using gilguys to keep halyards off the mast in any event, not to mention eliminating the cacaphony of slapping halyards.
Fair Winds, Will
-My aluminum mast is now 40 years old -
I see some very good advice here from some pretty smart sailors. In addition to dye checking the mast stress points, also dye check all of the spar fittings that attach the standing rigging. is your mast deck stepped? My mast had severe corrosion at the mast step (at the keel). Had a boatyard square it up and saw off about 1-1/2 inches to clean aluminum. Then treated with alumina-prep and then alodine. 2 years later all looks good.
I see some very good advice here from some pretty smart sailors. In addition to dye checking the mast stress points, also dye check all of the spar fittings that attach the standing rigging. is your mast deck stepped? My mast had severe corrosion at the mast step (at the keel). Had a boatyard square it up and saw off about 1-1/2 inches to clean aluminum. Then treated with alumina-prep and then alodine. 2 years later all looks good.
Re: DC-3 longevity
In 2010, I had a big pine tree fall on my docked MacGregor 26S. Landed on the backstay, and bent the mast 90 degrees. Ordered a new one from Dwyer Mast for $761 (see details below). They were great to deal with. Why spend 600-700 on an inspection when you can order a new one for not much more?
DM-6 Mast Extrusion - Tube Length 28 ft. 2 in. based on stock length of 28'6" @
$26.35/ft. with Sailfeed @ $10.00 at 2 ft. 6 in.
Item Total - $760.98
In 2010, I had a big pine tree fall on my docked MacGregor 26S. Landed on the backstay, and bent the mast 90 degrees. Ordered a new one from Dwyer Mast for $761 (see details below). They were great to deal with. Why spend 600-700 on an inspection when you can order a new one for not much more?
DM-6 Mast Extrusion - Tube Length 28 ft. 2 in. based on stock length of 28'6" @
$26.35/ft. with Sailfeed @ $10.00 at 2 ft. 6 in.
Item Total - $760.98
I am extremely impressed you have found no signs of corrosion, since you are on salt water (Marblehead) especially. My mast is younger by a decade, and over the weekend I've been thinking about replacing it because of all the patches of corrosion I know are present and untreated, at the foot and head especially. The corrosion is nothing like what Jon_E showed in this thread, which is worth looking at (it has a sad ending, and I hope john rolka found a new boat). After rehabbing the hull of my 1981 C27 last winter, and after spending nearly five times as much on what I did as I spent on the boat originally, and with still $$$$ to go on deck hardware, imagining a mast replacement has me sweating!! I woke up early this morning with this, among other things, on my mind.... Your post and the great responses are timely. I think I'm ok for a couple of years, but the mast has to be unstepped soon for me to fix the footing below the compression post in the bilge. It is, predictably, compressed, and needs to be replaced with good material. My rehab advisor and I missed this last winter, when the repair would have been a piece of cake. So more $$$ to unstep the mast, etc. this project has been a learning experience, and the lesson is to inspect every system on the boat before buying, no matter how much of a bargain she seems to be. Second lesson is that a safe and sound boat costs a lot more than a shoestring! But she's a joy to sail, so I'll keep on going....
If you want to replace a C27 mast, where do you get one?
Sorry to get off the thread a bit....
The DC3 is 78 years old.
My 2 cents. The clearers Simple Green and Mean Green are corrosion inhibitors for steel and aluminum. So when you use these cleaners no need to rinse, the residue will protect the surfaces from corrosion. Believe it or not. Google it for more detail.
My 2 cents. The clearers Simple Green and Mean Green are corrosion inhibitors for steel and aluminum. So when you use these cleaners no need to rinse, the residue will protect the surfaces from corrosion. Believe it or not. Google it for more detail.
dang
goony birds are older than me and i am older than dirt.
masts will live almost forever. mine is wood, 1976, and no rot. if mine is still good, and wood, imagine how awesome your aluminum one is..
my ericson has a la fiell mast from 1979. never painted and was acid washed prior to my purchase of boat in 2004. still standing and not bent in half or anything. the spreaders are still in the proper position and everything..
isnt that a miracle.
might wanna contact la fiell for specs on aging and longevity of mast, if you have any doubt or concern. is prolly just an email, as they still do business in los angeles county.
goony birds are older than me and i am older than dirt.
masts will live almost forever. mine is wood, 1976, and no rot. if mine is still good, and wood, imagine how awesome your aluminum one is..
my ericson has a la fiell mast from 1979. never painted and was acid washed prior to my purchase of boat in 2004. still standing and not bent in half or anything. the spreaders are still in the proper position and everything..
isnt that a miracle.
might wanna contact la fiell for specs on aging and longevity of mast, if you have any doubt or concern. is prolly just an email, as they still do business in los angeles county.
Just started to work on my mast last weekend.
Being a 78 the spreaders were wood and rotten. Mast looked great until I removed the spreader bases as I will be installing new with aluminum spreader.
I appears there is a significant amount of corrosion there where the 3 spreader bracket bolts when through the mast.
Is it enough to make me worry a bit, yes. Being on the flats I tend to think the mast is ok, but that could be wishful thinking on my part.
Attached is the best picture I have.
Being a 78 the spreaders were wood and rotten. Mast looked great until I removed the spreader bases as I will be installing new with aluminum spreader.
I appears there is a significant amount of corrosion there where the 3 spreader bracket bolts when through the mast.
Is it enough to make me worry a bit, yes. Being on the flats I tend to think the mast is ok, but that could be wishful thinking on my part.
Attached is the best picture I have.
Attachments
I agree with most of the comments here. Let me ad that I would check the pulleys at the top of the mast. I once owned a Cal 28 and the pulleys were made of high impact plastic. Well guess what? after years of use, the pulleys split in half. we replaced them with aluminum pulleys.
I have (had) a 30 year old mast on a MacGreggor that snapped about 6 feet up from the base. Only reason I can suspect is because it was at a bolt hole on the front of the mast. I spoke with an Aluminum Extractor I know who had been in the business for 30 years, and he said it can happen, they do fatigue.
I saw one post about having it inspected for about $700.00. I don't know how tall that mast was, but I bought a brand new one for $765.00 plus shipping $250.00 (east coast to west coast) it was 28 feet. If you are worried about it, you might want to consider new if you were going to have it inspected. This place was great and a lot of help. also had additional rigging available and the mast was an exact match. https://www.dwyermast.com/
I saw one post about having it inspected for about $700.00. I don't know how tall that mast was, but I bought a brand new one for $765.00 plus shipping $250.00 (east coast to west coast) it was 28 feet. If you are worried about it, you might want to consider new if you were going to have it inspected. This place was great and a lot of help. also had additional rigging available and the mast was an exact match. https://www.dwyermast.com/
My bet is that a 40 year old aluminum mast has more cross-section than a New mast meaning a lot more inherent strength. I would carefully inspect all fittings--screwed, bolted, welded or riveted for signs of cracking, fatigue looseness or distortion and fix them--presumably you already did that when you re-rigged it but never hurts to look again. Then enjoy the next 40!
One other thing to check (easy to do on your very clean mast) is whether you or any PO created weak points by repeated remounting of fittings. Another owner of my class of boat reported a mast failure where the spar was riddled with old mounting holes. This warning is more appropriate for people buying a boat with a refinished mast, where filler and paint may cover old perforations.