A story about a broken mast and a question

[truckjunky87]

My dad and I went in together on a '86 Macgregor 25 this past summer. It's the first sailboat for either of us and we were getting the hang of it. Well, a week ago my father was pulling it out of the marina but the marina had several of the usual lanes blocked off. In his attempt to get out he caught the mast on a tree limb and broke it just above the speaders. Kind of ironic because while growing up I was always the one to call him up and tell him I broke something or other of his - now it was his turn.

Anyways, sailing is done for the winter but we need to get this fixed before next spring. The mast is not repairable so we have two options.

Option 1: We have a ~23' mast off of a hobie cat with the same extruded ellipitcal dimensions and we have a friend who welds airplane structures. We thought we could remove 5' from the busted mast and weld it onto the top of the short mast and have a pretty cheap fix. I'm not worried about the welds so much as the design - are we asking for problems with this approach? Any suggestions on other repair methods?

Option 2: We have found a couple used masts but they are all located in the coastal areas and I'm landlocked here in Utah. Anyone have experience shipping a ~28' mast. How much and how difficult?

Thanks.

 

[sailingdog]

Instead of welding, using a reinforcing collar to attach the two pieces together might make far more sense. Aluminum loses quite a bit of its strength if exposed to high temperatures, and that strength can't be restored without re-tempering the mast... which is not likely to happen. By using a collar, you won't weaken the aluminum and will generally have a stronger repair.

 

[Tim R.]

It is very common to repair a mast using an internal sleeve(or collar as dog put it). The sleeve is sized a few feet beyond the seam of the 2 pieces and then riveted in place. It would be better to add to the bottom of the mast especially if your mast cap is welded on.

 

[Ross]

I think that the lowest stress area will be in the section below the spreaders(bottom 5 feet ) so logically that is the place for the extension. Depending upon how the sail is bent to the mast you have several options for reinforcing the joint. Using a piece of the broken mast you can probably cut segments that can be used for the splice. The circumference of the inside of repair sections will be smaller than the circumference of the outside of the mast so there will be vertical gaps in the splice unless you cut to compensate for that.
Edit to add: I use my 7 1/4 inch circular power saw for cutting aluminum quite often. A carbide blade and there is no difficulty.

 

[CalebD]

I like the idea of attaching a 'sleeve' reinforcement inside the break, a few feet in either direction from the break as others have suggested. You have shrouds that will handle a lot of the load on the mast so all it has to do is stay in one piece. This should work fine as long as your halyards are not internal to the mast - if they are, then maybe they could be routed outside the mast.
What SD says about welding aluminum is likely true so I would use your welder friend only to clean up any jagged edges and for his general metalworking knowledge. He can probably help you fabricate the insert which will hold the 2 pieces together.
I would really try to fix your broken mast before trying to buy a replacement and having to worry about shipping, etc.
That said, been there, done that. I was pulling my 14' day sailor up a ramp many years ago when it started to rain and I did not see or remember the power line that ran across the parking lot. I heard a loud noise and looked back and the keel stepped mast snapped about 3' above the deck from the strain. Luckily the power line did not snap.
I brought the 2 pieces to a metal shop and they welded it back together. I would not say that it is as good as new but it is almost straight and it works. This mast has no stays though so I have to watch out if the wind picks up.
Good luck with your repair.

 

[cptskip]

i have spliced about 100 masts.from 34ft to 110ft. riveting lets water in between the splice and mast. welding does take away from the itx and ity.the best by far, is both. make a 4 section piece, 15 thou under id dimension fore and aft have your friend weld that together, grind. mark upper and lower mast sections 1.5 ft, cut mast at Thru bolt of spreader drill for coin welds, 1/2 die- equal to 3 times mast area,in upper and lower sec of mast.tack in the splice in lower sec. slide upper sec on,put a tight fitting stainless steel.piece so alignment is perfect. weld seam first, then stagger coin welds so no warping can occur, then bore for comp tube. weld it in. grind to pretty it and paint or set spreaders in place. thru bolt tangs on.wha-lah a professionally spliced mast.

 

[OldCat]

I'll bet ctskip can fix your mast - the question is - is there anyone nearby you who can do as well? You are not in a big sailing area. Getting a mast extrusion can't be rocket science. Perhaps a MacGreg dealer can have one shipped on the truck that is delivering a new boat? That ought to be a cheap delivery since they are already shipping the boat and its mast.

OC

 

[truckjunky87]

Thanks for all of the suggestions and I think we have a good handle on how to approach the repair. I'll let everyone know how it goes once we get into it.

 

[Larry Wilson]

No update since October? So what has transpired truckjunky?

 

[cptskip]

haven't seen you in a while mr wilson. we have some more project boats for you.