Well folks, the annual launch and rig went very badly this weekend. The mast fell and broke at the steaming light. The mast is now in 2 pieces. The mast has a Z-Spars sticker and also has a Z-Diffusion plate that lists the type as H-27 and the reference as "Proto". I am considering having the mast welded but I have been told that the masts are tempered metal and that the weld would be a weak spot. Is this true for the H-27 mast? What are my options for replacing the mast? Thanks for your help. Bruce Schober
Broken mast on a 1989 Hunter 27
- Thread starter Windy C
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Some distributor links...
For starters, you could go find out what the new spar would cost. http://www.rigrite.com http://www.usspars.com I'm sure it will take a phone call, but if you visit the sites you'll get a head start on the nomenclature. good luck, what a terrible way to start the season!
For starters, you could go find out what the new spar would cost. http://www.rigrite.com http://www.usspars.com I'm sure it will take a phone call, but if you visit the sites you'll get a head start on the nomenclature. good luck, what a terrible way to start the season!
S
Sam Lust
Good thing, bad thing
This might not be as bad as you are thinking, although welding is, as far as I'm concerned, not the way to go. I've never heard of tempered aluminum. It's a process performed onsteel which involves red-hot heat and cooling. Not something you'd want to do to aluminum. A friend's Irwin 37 has a mast that is pieced together at about the mid point, and he has had no problems with it in a dozen years, and pays no attention to it what so ever. The mast is "spliced" using exact fitting pieces inside and screwing together with very large heasded flat head screws. It appears the inside splice pieces go about 8" in each direction from the split, which is a clean, square cut. If your break is at or very close to the spreaders I think a splice like this would make no difference at all. You might want to seek out a very good rigger for this, and also check with Z-Spar. They might even be able to supply the splica piece. Now the real question -- How the heck did the mast get dropped?
This might not be as bad as you are thinking, although welding is, as far as I'm concerned, not the way to go. I've never heard of tempered aluminum. It's a process performed onsteel which involves red-hot heat and cooling. Not something you'd want to do to aluminum. A friend's Irwin 37 has a mast that is pieced together at about the mid point, and he has had no problems with it in a dozen years, and pays no attention to it what so ever. The mast is "spliced" using exact fitting pieces inside and screwing together with very large heasded flat head screws. It appears the inside splice pieces go about 8" in each direction from the split, which is a clean, square cut. If your break is at or very close to the spreaders I think a splice like this would make no difference at all. You might want to seek out a very good rigger for this, and also check with Z-Spar. They might even be able to supply the splica piece. Now the real question -- How the heck did the mast get dropped?
Insurance?
If you have the boat insured maybe you should submit a claim. That way, your insurance company can sue the yard, saving you the trouble.
If you have the boat insured maybe you should submit a claim. That way, your insurance company can sue the yard, saving you the trouble.
S
Steve O.
My experience
Bruce, I experienced a similar disaster a few years ago. I had a sleeve welded in until a new mast could be shipped from FL, which took about 6-8 weeks. The welded mast worked fine, but the welder needs to know aluminum. (BTW, the spars are not tempered.) The disadvantage to the splice is extra weight aloft (a couple of lbs?) and devaluation should ypou decide to sell the boat in the future. I used SECO South in Largo, FL 727-536-1924 or Tampa/St. Pete 813-536-1924
Bruce, I experienced a similar disaster a few years ago. I had a sleeve welded in until a new mast could be shipped from FL, which took about 6-8 weeks. The welded mast worked fine, but the welder needs to know aluminum. (BTW, the spars are not tempered.) The disadvantage to the splice is extra weight aloft (a couple of lbs?) and devaluation should ypou decide to sell the boat in the future. I used SECO South in Largo, FL 727-536-1924 or Tampa/St. Pete 813-536-1924
Bruce, I had a mast welded and it was ok.
I was building a custom cat and added 5 feet an stock 30' mast. It lasted for years with no problem. I also had to replace my mast on my Hunter. My insurance covered the whole thing, including paying me $65/hr to do the work. Shipping down to me was about $300. The biggest pain was converting all the hardware over to the new mast. You will need a metal blade and a circular saw to cut the new mast to the correct size. Ted
I was building a custom cat and added 5 feet an stock 30' mast. It lasted for years with no problem. I also had to replace my mast on my Hunter. My insurance covered the whole thing, including paying me $65/hr to do the work. Shipping down to me was about $300. The biggest pain was converting all the hardware over to the new mast. You will need a metal blade and a circular saw to cut the new mast to the correct size. Ted
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