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- Thread starter Murgatroid
- Start date
First We need to hear the story !
Lake Monroe? Where else can you sail in the middle of Indiana?
I live in NW Indiana and sail on Lake Michigan.
Greg
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,335
Which one did you destroy?
The Hobi Tandem, is likely carbon fiber. That would likely not bend and for sure not bend back. Source that through the company.
There there. Not as bad as you thought... Right!
- Hobi Tandem Islander,
- a West Wight Potter 19,
- and a Helsen HMS 23
The Hobi Tandem, is likely carbon fiber. That would likely not bend and for sure not bend back. Source that through the company.
There there. Not as bad as you thought... Right!
Perhaps this article may give you some idea to fix your bent mast.
www.pbo.co.uk
“I had a banana for a mast” 300 miles offshore: Lessons learned from a mid-Atlantic knockdown
Golden Globe Race entrant and former Clipper Race skipper Guy Waites suffers mast failure 300 miles from the Azores
Well, was using the gin pole to raise the mast on the HMS 23. Only the second time I've done it and I've not figured out how they intended the foresail to attach and was trying something different from the first time. Got the lines tangled, couldn't get the mast all the way up but I could pin the side stays to hold it, which I did. Got the lines untangled and realized I was going to have to lower the mast because I needed to change how I was attaching the foresail and then without raising the gin pole back up, I pulled one of the side stay pins, had a Willey Coyote moment as I realized what I had done and was pulled over backwards as I tried to hold the mast up with the sidestay. Bent where it it the side of the boat.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,335
It is moments like these that clarify the admonitions of experienced sailors... Besure you have a fair lead before you do anything.
I raised and lowered my M15 mast for 18 years. When preparing for the raise I always attached the side shrouds one at a time affirming it was clear and fair from all things that could catch it. I had no gin pole. They are very helpful. I used the jib halyard run through a block at the bow. It was a bit of a chinese fire drill, but I lifted the mast and walked it forward tilting it up while drawing in on the halyard. (if an assistant was available I gave the assistant the responsibility to pull on the forward halyard and do not let go until instructed to release it.) This system worked for me.
Regarding your mast you there are really three options.
You may need to locate a rigger who can help you with the mathematical details.
I raised and lowered my M15 mast for 18 years. When preparing for the raise I always attached the side shrouds one at a time affirming it was clear and fair from all things that could catch it. I had no gin pole. They are very helpful. I used the jib halyard run through a block at the bow. It was a bit of a chinese fire drill, but I lifted the mast and walked it forward tilting it up while drawing in on the halyard. (if an assistant was available I gave the assistant the responsibility to pull on the forward halyard and do not let go until instructed to release it.) This system worked for me.
Regarding your mast you there are really three options.
- You take the mast off the boat. Take it to a shop and have the bend cut out. Then weld a long sleave over the break. It will be a bit clunky and the mast will be a bit shorter, but if this is just a pleasure boat and you are not racing, the welded mast will let you sail her in moderate conditions.
- Find a used boat that is broken and has a good mast similar in length and dimensions to the bent mast.
- Buy a replacement mast.
You may need to locate a rigger who can help you with the mathematical details.
Once a mast is bent, the integrity is gone. Even if it could be sleeved (one that exactly fits the current mast), the mast often ends up to be shorter causes more issues. Suggest finding a used mast or buy a new one
First, have a stiff drink. Then have another one. Then, start looking for a new mast.
I'm sure there must be a machine shop somewhere near you. They could easily sleeve the mast where it bent and it would probably be as good as new, perhaps better. I'm assuming yours is a trailer sailer, so moving the mast shouldn't be a problem, but if you don't have a way to move it, a ramp type tow truck could move it easily and safely. I just checked yesterday, and it is $75.00 an hour to rent one here in RI, probably less, out there in the boonies. All in all, much cheaper than a new mast plus transport.
As a former sailboat dealer , I cannot recommend any sleeved mast repair unless the sleeve is designed specifically to that mast. I have seen too much as a dealer and safety comes first over saving a buck. Period!
I'd have to see photos - is the mast dented? Bent in a sharp bend where it hit the boat?
dj
dj
Interesting. Our 70' mast was made in two sections and sleeved together. Skipping Stone is over 40, with her original mast, and I'm guessing it will probably be around longer than I.
I agree, but a good metal working shop "should?" be able to do the job properly, don't you think?
There are multiple boats in the yard that are not sailable, abandoned or otherwise derelict. Talk to the marina manager to see if there may be one to scrounge from a similar sized boat. All you need is a straight, aluminum tube of roughly the same dimensions as yours. You'd probably need to buy new parts for the mast step to match up with what you've got or reconfigure it.
In my former life , I was an experienced investigator well respected besides being a sailboat dealer. In addition I appraised sailboats and saw alot of failed issues of sleeving failures that mast and sailboat mfgs shared with me. The sleeving issue where the sleeve specifically for that spar works but too many failures on those with junk sleeves slapped together.