Bent mast

Apr 3, 2013
4
Macgregor 25 Rocky Fork Lake
Has anyone tried to fix a bent mast on a Mac 25? I have a slight bend to starboard above the spreader and a slight rake to aft.8CFECC6A-77D4-4699-8461-1403FA2E807F.jpeg
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Place the mast between 2 trees and bend it back in shape.......that is what I did on a Catalina 22 bent mast.
I've done something similar using two fence posts. Just take your time and go slow. Move the mast back and forth between the two set points and go easy on the rebend.
 
Apr 11, 2020
708
MacGregor 26s Scott's Landing, Grapevine TX
The bend in your mast is slight enough and you have enough lever-arm distance that the above-mentioned technique might be the quickest and easiest way to go. If not, I straightened a badly bent mast from my Hunter 170 in a two-step process:

1 - Set the mast against my home's foundation slab, (padded with 2x6 lumber), set a six-ton jack (also padded with lumber) against a steel fence post set in a concrete footing, and got the biggest part of the bend out. Fence post was displaced some, but pounding the ground with a sledge hammer got it back into place.

2 - Fine-tuned the adjustment by placing the mast across my driveway, again padded with 2x6 lumber. A long bolt was inserted in the end of the mast to prevent twisting. A long 2x6 ramp was placed on top of the bend, and my van was driven up onto the ramp. Plywood spacers were placed underneath the bend to limit the amount of deflection. The front left tire of my van made many trips up and down the ramp, each one with successively less plywood spacers underneath, until the mast was straightened to my satisfaction.