Funny splits / pierce throughs in the mast

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ryanmohr

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Nov 8, 2009
33
Cal Jensen 1977 Cal 2-27 La Marianas Sailing Club
I was doing a preliminary survey on a Cal 27 yesterday and saw these funny looking splits in the mast. The first one is about 7' above deck and then they continue every 4' or 5' up to the masthead.

Any idea what they are and how much cause for concern they are? I've never seen these on any other masts before.
 

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Allan12210

Allan12210

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Jan 22, 2008
1,702
Hunter 34 Alameda CA
Its hard to tell if that is the beginning of a serious failure. If it is a crack that goes all the way through the metal, that is not good. It could continue to propagate to failure. A temporary measure would be to drill a small hole on each end of the crack to perhaps stop its progression. After that, I would pull the mast and have it examined by a licensed metallurgist. They might be able to do a non destructive test like ultrasound to determine if it is the signs of fatigue failure.

Allan
 
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ryanmohr

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Nov 8, 2009
33
Cal Jensen 1977 Cal 2-27 La Marianas Sailing Club
If it helps, there are actually small corners of what look to be metal plates poking through (protruding about 1/8") and they are consistent in size and depth the whole way up.

And yes, they do poke all the way through the mast but are only found on the aft-port side of the mast.
 
SamLust

SamLust

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Jan 2, 2008
547
Hunter 33 (Cherubini design Forked River, Barnegat Bay, NJ
Yup. Every guy I've met from Minnetonka has had a weird sense of humor.



That mast would worry me. I think there are too many boats out there right now that are good deals to risk that one.
 
Allan12210

Allan12210

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Jan 22, 2008
1,702
Hunter 34 Alameda CA
Maybe a one legged lumberjack climbed up.

Judging from the marks on the mast from the halyards, it looks like they won't last long either. Maybe those protrusions come from the sail track on the inside?

Turn it into a power boat until a new mast can be found.
 
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ryanmohr

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Nov 8, 2009
33
Cal Jensen 1977 Cal 2-27 La Marianas Sailing Club
Allan12210 said:
Maybe those protrusions come from the sail track on the inside?
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I think you're right. They were too consistently sized and placed to be from random wear.

How could the inside sail track be so poorly fit that it would need to pierce through the mast? From the responses so far I take it this is not common at all. Would this be a mistake on the owner's part or the mast supplier?

Thanks for all the advice. Another potential boat bites the dust. Seems like every sailboat below $20K here on Oahu has major showstopper issues (engines rarely start, rigging is worn and needing replacement, sails are often worn and undersized, and the hulls haven't been cleaned in years). Most of the owners can't even tell me when the last survey was and many of them haven't sailed the boat in at least a year.

I'm jealous of you guys back on the mainland that can get their hands on a ready-to-sail seaworthy boat for $5-10K!
 
Chris Burti

Chris Burti

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Dec 2, 2003
480
Catalina C-320 Washington, NC
Due the low quality of the thumbnail, I really can't tell from looking at the picture what these openings are. Get a qualified rigger to check it out.

As a former Cal 27-T/2 owner, I can tell you that this mast's cross section is so massively overbuilt that you shouldn't write it off without first getting a pro to look at it.
 
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Steve Dion

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Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
I wonder of this might be where the chase is connected to the mast on the inside.

Regardless this is NOT good. It is time to run again from another problem. New Mast/Rigging $7-10k est.

Personally I would not spend a dime on having someone else look at something like this that you do not own.
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
My guess is corrosion from the supports the mast was on while it was down for a long time. I would take a pass on this one.
 
Rick Webb

Rick Webb

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Jun 2, 2004
3,652
Hunter 23.5 Fort Walton Yacht Club, Florida
Aloha

Are all the holes in line with the screws?

I gew up and learned to sail in Hawaii. We would sail from Hickam Harbor to Lahina without a motor. Not sure why you think you need one. Just remember the wind slacks off a little somwhere between 4 and 6 but picks up as the sun sets.
 
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ryanmohr

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Nov 8, 2009
33
Cal Jensen 1977 Cal 2-27 La Marianas Sailing Club
Rick Webb said:
Are akk the holes in line with the screws?
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No, just the first one happened to be. The rest seem to fall between two screws. There weren't as many of them as I thought I remembered seeing either. There are a total of 5 with the last one a foot or two below the head of the mast.

I've done a fair bit of sailing but at this point I'm not ready to bring her into her slip under sail just yet. If the engine is beyond repair, maybe I'll just get a good set of oars. :doh:
 
higgs

higgs

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Aug 24, 2005
3,736
Nassau 34 Olcott, NY
I almost looks like someone tried to put some home made fairleads on. You have got to determine if these are slits in the mast, or a couple of small holes at each spot. It looks like somone filled holes with something.

Can you contact the owner?
 
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ryanmohr

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Nov 8, 2009
33
Cal Jensen 1977 Cal 2-27 La Marianas Sailing Club
They are slits in the mast that have been caulked. I've contacted the owner but he's not sure what they are.
 
Manny

Manny

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Oct 5, 2006
983
Hunter 82? 37 Cutter Wherever the wind takes me
That sure is a mystery. One thing I noticed, especially from the first picture, is that there are dark horizontal "stains" along the mast - but looking at it closely at location of the splits there is a noticeable clean vertical line that fades as it gets further from the splits. I'm guessing that the splits are the remainder of some method of fastening or guiding something with some flexibility up the mast, maybe some padeyes for a line???

Manny
 
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kendall

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Aug 2, 2005
374
pearson ariel grand rapids
Merry Prankster said:
My guess is that some PO drilled holes in the mast and then threaded a wire in one and out the other capturing the internal wires to stop them from slapping inside the mast. Here is a link to someone who did something similar. http://yachtsoftware.org/CableSlappingFix.aspx
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That's what it looks like to me.
Two holes drilled with a wire run through them to secure something inside, the 'ragged' look is because the wire doesn't sit smoothly against the mast, and the gap is filled with caulk.

I'd scoot up the mast and look at one, or bring a pair of binoculars.

Ken.
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
Merry Prankster said:
My guess is that some PO drilled holes in the mast and then threaded a wire in one and out the other capturing the internal wires to stop them from slapping inside the mast. Here is a link to someone who did something similar. http://yachtsoftware.org/CableSlappingFix.aspx
Click to expand
I sure would like to see a demostration of that technique. Drill two 1/4 inch holes an inch apart and tread a wire in one hole and around a small loose bundle and out the other hole.
 
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