Bent mast

[Gerry Urban]

I curretnly own a Venture 17. I have an opportunity (?) to get a MacGregor 21 from a marina. 1. Can you tell the age of the 21 by the serial no? The deal breaker might be the slightly bent mast. My opinion is that any metal bent and re-bent back gets weakened. But the cost of a new or used mast would be how much? On the otherhand the bend is only slight. Am I needlessly worrying and would pass up a good deal?

 

[Jim Hughes]

I have a 21ft. venture and the top 7ft.of the mast tends to curve forward a bit.When the main sail is up,the mast is straight. My boat is a 3/4 rig.No backstay,no spreaders.Shrouds and forestay are attached 7ft. below the top of the mast.I emailed Macgregor and was told that some boats were set up like this.Good luck in your search.