The weather is mild up here, so I got in some boat time. Here are some pictures of the step. Someone drilled two holes through the mast at some point and broke the casting. The pieces were not in the mast, so I assume the casting was removed after that. Besides the cracked corner, the other three corners of the rectangular piece, are turned up a little, rather than flat. I don't know if that is normal or not. I think the gray stuff between that and the top part of the hinge, is 5200.
My plan is to take it over to the marina, and see if he has a part. If not, we will try welding it. If that doesn't work, I might get one made locally. They have the hinge piece at the marina, and as you can see, it is really deformed.
In any case, I will whittle one out of metal with a meat skewer, before I give RigRite $267 for a new one. A similar size part from Dwyer is about $50!! It unfortunately won't fit the Kenyon 3560.
Any thoughts?
MikeB
As you know through our correspondance Mike, I'm going through this very same dilemma.
The other day it was so unseasonably mild outside that I decided to uncover part of my boat near the bow so that I could get at the mast. I had an extra piece of Trex left over and I wanted to make a mast plug out of it. I had to unwrap a short length of polytarp from the bottom of my mast. I had removed the other stainless steel mast plug made by Rig-Rite, and upper hinge plate last fall before I covered my boat.
What I wound up doing the other day was to make an imprint or pattern of the bottom of my mast on a piece of thin cardboard. I put a thin layer of Vaseline around the bottom of the mast and added some blue chalk line powder to it. Then I carefully place the cardboard against the open bottom of the mast and with a soft mallet, I tapped the cardboard around the perimeter of the mast to get the imprint which I later cut out and transferred to the 1" thick Trex block. I cut the block with my bandsaw and made many trips in and out of the cellar to my drill press with the sanding attachment drum.
I had taken a trip last Tuesday to Newport RI to visit two nautical consignment stores and couldn't find anything that I could use to Mickey Mouse this project. The guy in one of the shops pointed me in the direction of a metal fabrication shop just behind his store and I walked over there and got the guy to cut me a piece of 1/4" thick X 5"X18" sheet of Aluminum. He only charged me $10.
So here's my plan: I've already constructed the Trex plug that fits snuggly into the bottom of the mast and I plan on cutting the Aluminum plate to the same shape as the plug--but a little larger all the way around so that the weight of my mast sits on the Aluminum plate.
I plan on drilling two holes for the bolts going through the plug and the plate.
The plug will be held into the mast with three stainless steel wood screws going through the side of the mast with nylon washers between the mast and the screws. I also plan on applying a little Never-Seize to the smooth part of the screws where the washers and mast come in contact. This should prevent electrolysis from building up.
I'm going to make some kind of provision for the rain water to drain out of the mast at the plug.
So in essence, what I'll have is a Trex mast plug attached to an Aluminum plate for the mast to sit one, plus two more pieces of 1" thick Trex under the plate, bolted to my upper hinge plate with two long bolts.
The Trex between the plate and the upper hinge plate will be the same shape as the plate.
If you decide to go this route on your 23, you could make up the difference for height by using a piece of trex mounted on top of your cabin top under your tabernacle hinge plate. This may provide the height needed so that your stay lengths can come out right.
It may also be a huge benefit in raising your mast as I had found out years ago when I first started using a Gin Pole. Just that 1" height alone provided enough clearance needed over the sliding hatch to have my mast sitting in the rear mast crutch at it's lowest point while pinned to the tabernacle ready to be raised. Otherwise, I would have had to raise my mast crutch each time and pin it whenever I raised or lowered my mast. So, it worked out good for me.
As for your project, I'm really not sure if this is the best way for you to go because at least your mast is full length whereas, I needed to cut 2" off the bottom of my mast, so I really have no choice in the matter. In a way though Mike, we're both in the same boat.
Good luck!
Joe