I recently bought a 1987 30 ft Catalina. I paid for a survey to be conducted however due to a lack of professional due diligence he didn't catch the fact that the area in and around the mast is sunken and compressed into the deck. Has anyone out there had a similar issue with the mast and how did you fix it? I'm guessing that I'll have to remove the mast tear into the deck and remove whatever material is found underneath. After removal I'll have to re-fiberglass and/or epoxy the area until it's level once again.
Deck compression under in and around the mast collar
- Thread starter Surfah
- Start date
Sorry to hear that, there are a lot of mast step repair threads on here that I have read. I'd plan to remove the mast then the compression post from inside, the cut the inside below the mast step out instead of the deck to repair it. try looking under Cataline 30 mast step repair
here is one
here is one
Soft deck repair under mast step
The fiberglass is cracking around my mast step, looking exactly like the photos posted in this closed thread: http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=1026954 After removing the mast step plate, I could dig out wet wood from the hole where the wires go through (after...
forums.sailboatowners.com
If the surveyor is a professional you may have recourse with him or his insurance company. Surveyors are supposed to find stuff like that. Their reports are often written with large loopholes but a deck problem around a mast is hard to explain away. How did you find the problem?
I had a rigger come to the boat to tune the standing rigging as per the recommendation from the survey conducted barely a month ago when I was in the process of purchasing the boat. The rigger immediately noticed the issue upon walking up to the boat.
The compression post won’t compress/contract so it’s likely a problem where the post rests on the keel. Lots of Catalinas were built with a wood base which is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. The wood gets wet, rots and you have a sunken deck at the step.
This isn’t a trivial problem and should be corrected depending on the value of the boat.
I would definitely find out if the surveyor has E&O insurance. Most do. Not seeing that was definitely negligent by the surveyor.
The lesson here never blindly depend on a surveyor. Do your own due diligence carefully inspecting any boat purchase before it’s too late. Too many incompetent surveyors in the world.
This isn’t a trivial problem and should be corrected depending on the value of the boat.
I would definitely find out if the surveyor has E&O insurance. Most do. Not seeing that was definitely negligent by the surveyor.
The lesson here never blindly depend on a surveyor. Do your own due diligence carefully inspecting any boat purchase before it’s too late. Too many incompetent surveyors in the world.
We had a Cat30. The surveyor was about to miss this issue also. I had done some reading and suggested a more in-depth look. We were able to punch a screwdriver through the forward wall of the bilge. In the end, we bought the boat with an agreed upon reduction to account for the mast support issue. There used to be a number of fixes posted on the yahoo Catalina 30 group site- don't know if that group is still available. All methods involved completely removing the old mast step. Some fixes were based on screw jacks placed on a new base and supporting the compression post. Some used epoxy coated wood (which I would never do) . I used Trex decking material with fibrous Bondo in between layers to keep things stable. The Trex has low moisture absorption and more than adequate compression values (900 psi). The last two layers were opposing wedges to allow me to adjust to the correct height. You still might also have a deck issue- wet balsa core at the deck step. Good luck.
Check the C-30 boards, or call Catalina. This is a fairly common early C-30 issue. I agree with Don, that using wood in a wet environment doesn't sound like a great idea, but I don't think they expected boats to last 40+ years back then. Hunter had a better idea, they used a mild steel "I" beam in the bilge, which is especially good if you sail in salt water. The good news is that a lot of folks have done this. At least one thread below. While the mast is keel stepped, there is a "compression post" that doubles as a door post for the head, which helps support the deck.
"Practical Sailor, and most surveyors, seem to indicate that the problem is not severe if there is no indication of cracking of the deck around the step, delamination of the deck, or cracking/ delamination of the interior hull liner under the mast step. Check for all of the above. Also check the entire "compression sandwich" supporting the mast below deck -- the compression post itself, and very importantly the wood mast step/block in the bilge which carries the mast stresses to the keel. This block has a tendency to soften after prolonged exposure to bilge water."
Mast Step on tall rig Catalina 30
Does anyone have any experience in mast step problems on a 30 tall rig? Do they have any problems with the deck compressing under the mast? Does anyone know what material is under the mast between the mast step and the post that is under the deck. This is the material that is between the deck...
forums.sailboatowners.com
Had same issue on 1977 c27. The root of the problem is rot at the base of the compression post, which needs to be removed and replaced. You can't fix the problem on deck until the the punky wood is removed and replaced below. As mentioned above, a screw jack can help reinforce the mast and be incrementally adjusted, but to fix it right, you must repair the base first.