Compression Post I beam

[John]

Many have written on how they replaced their compression post I beam. I am (literally) in the middle of it. Stuck in the middle. Have a bottle jack, jacked it up about 4 inches in from the stern end of the post and managed to wedge the new I beam in. Put it down and moved the bottle jack fwd a bit and did again. Now the I beam is about 4-5 inches in ( of 8 total length ), but that is past the post, so the bottle jack is just pushing up against a 3/4 inch thick piece of hardwood covering the bilge opening ( not removable, that piece is further fwd and is out ). Can't get any leverage to lift the post, and the beam won't budge any further. Chris Stone said he got his in in half an hour, I spent 4+ hours today trying to find a way to get those last 3+ inches in. Everything I touch seems to go to hell.Any help would be greatly appreciated.I'm going to see if I can get an old car jack with a long lift arm, but it seems to me that others who have done this did not have nearly the problems I am.thanks

 

[Jim Logan]

Some suggestions

I can't tell from your post if you have tried the following, so bear with me if you already have tried these:1. Did you loosen the rigging turnbuckles somewhat before you started to put the post under? Lifting the base of the mast upward without loosening the rigging means you are trying to stretch the standing rigging, which is difficult if it is already tight. You don't want the mast to fall down, but the slack has to come from somewhere.2. Have you tried tapping the edges of the post with a large (3-10lb) sledge hammer? Using a heavy hammer and tapping at alternate ends of the post should move it in a few fractions of an inch at a time while lifting the deck. And I do mean tapping, not heavy blows.3. It may seem obvious, but is your measurement correct on the replacement? a half inch difference could make a lot of trouble.

 

[John]

thanks, but covered those

but thanks. The mast is down altogether, I used a 2x4 against the new beam to nudge it in, and I'm fairly sure the new beam is the right size, but at most is 1/4 inch too tall. I put a post out before to see if anyone knew the exact height, but no takers.I even tried to screw a 2 X 4 into the compression post as a lifting point, and then put the bottle jack under that slightly off to the side ( where I could get leverage ), but no dice, it just started to pull the screws out.I'm going to try to get some other type of jack today.Thanks a lot for the thoughts though.