Does this look bad to you?

[j_schoenfeld]

I purchased an 82 Oday 28, and have repowered her and cleaned her up. I was fishing around in the bilge as I get ready to put her to bed for the winter, and noticed the mast is corroded at the base and has holes in it. This looks scary to me, and I'm not sure the mast has been pulled on this boat in a very long time. If you all think this is a serious problem then I will get over to the mast hoist and get it down for the winter and get it fixed. If not then I can wait til I drop her on the hard next fall. If you think this is a problem, where would you go to get something like this redone?

Thanks for you help.

 

[Capt. Ed]

Yup you got a problem ,BUT there are ways to fix it ,and it depends on how much money you want to spend. One get a new ma$t and fix the step . Two cut off the base and have a section welded on . This is becoming a problem with older boats and solutions are out there .On the islander 36 site there is a section dealing with this . I am sure others will chime in with idears Good luck . Isalnder36owners.com

 

[Ed Schenck]

Looks worse than it is. . . .

probably. You really should pull the stick now so as to have time to investigate and repair. While messing about in the Hunter 37-cutter knowledgebase this afternoon I saw the exact project, pictures and text:
http://hunter.sailboatowners.com/index.php?option=com_mtree&task=viewlink&link_id=7229&Itemid=249

I also had a friend cut off about four inches and then have a new step machined four inches taller. But then he had friends with the resources to make the step thus saving big bucks.

 

[Marty A]

Yep, it's bad

I had similar issues on a much larger boat - Gulfstar 37. We pulled the mast and had a "collar" welded on that encapsulated the rotten section. The welder bitched that the repair was hard since the original mast was so corroded, but he did a great job and there were no further issues.

Good luck with your repair. The best choice is probably to get a new/salvaged mast, or mast section, but I'd definately plan on a repair before spring.

Marty

 

[sailingdog]

I'd agree you've got a problem and should pull the stick to see how bad it is. It could be far worse on the inside than you're seeing on the outside...and if it is, you could have some serious problems if the mast breaks there unexpectedly.

The suggestion to cut a few inches off the mast and raise the step would probably help prevent this in the future. Another thing to do is to add some drain holes in near the base of the mast so water doesn't stand inside it.

 

[higgs]

Why take the chance? Pull it and rest easy over the off season.

 

[Rich (P303)]

Uupp...

Pull the spar... and see what you have. At the very least you will probably need a new mast step. Find a friend who is handy with 1/4 aluminum.

I replaced mine last year. When I removed it... it was A LOT worse than it looked! My step bolted down into the keel, and sat in a shoe. Yours seems to be sitting over the shoe.

Now you have the inside of the mast to worry about. I like the idea of cutting the bad section off the bottom... and building up the shoe.

Good Luck.

 

[Roger Long]

It may not be so bad.

You definitely need to determine why this happened and the extent of the damage. However, if the problem is limited to just the holes, you may not need to do anything. Masts need a lot of material to make them stiff enough to remain straight under compression loads. Since aluminum masts are extruded, there is a much more material than is needed at the step. Cleaning up and smoothing the holes may be all that is needed once you have eliminated the cause of the corrosion.

Prime suspect is that the boat was allowed to sit with bilge water up over the level of these holes and there was a small electric leak somewhere. If you keep the bilges dry, the problem may be solved.

Check with a surveyor. It may be cheaper to have the mast audio gauged than to pull the stick. OTOH, I'm a firm believer that the mast should come out every year for a complete inspection.

 

[sailaway78]

Just did this repair

I just went through this same situation. With the exception that I didn't find the problem untilll the mast actually collapsed a little bit. DUUUUH When the shrouds loosened up and wouldn't tighten, it sunk in that I had a problem. The cause is a flat bilge that holds water, and the base of the mast sits in the water. After several years, corrosion finally gets to the aluminum. What I ended up doing with mine is to pull the mast, and cut approx. 3 inches off the bottom of it. I then made a spacer from pressure treated 2 x 10 material, liberally covered with epoxy. Some question the use of the wood spacer, but pressure treated dock parts easily last twenty years or more. Then I put a 1/4" aluminum plate on top of the spacer, which eliminated the need for the wood to hold the mast base directly on the wooden block, and put the mast step on top of this. The mast is back within 1/4" of origional height. The bottom of the mast now stays dry, which should eliminate this from ever happening again. There are lots of ways to do this, depends on how much money you want to spend. It would be easy to spend nearly as much as the boat is worth, if you wanted a new mast and step. You do need to pay particular attention to what the mast step sits on. If the keel stub is not solid, that needs to be the starting place. I didn't take any pics during the process, but can take and post one up of the finished product in the next couple of days, should you want to see how I did this one.

 

[j_schoenfeld]

Re: Just did this repair

I would love to see the pictures, sounds like I have better get busy getting this fixed. I agree with most here, I have some time now and would rather get into it than waste good sailing time next spring. And, I really don't want to see what happens when it does bust loose. I guess i should be depressed, but I love a good project like this, and it will keep me busy for the winter. As well as I can put on the spreader lights too!

Thanks everyone......

 

[sailaway78]

Will get some pics in the next few days

I'll get you some pics within the next few days. I'm not a great photographer, so don't expect Mainesail quality photos. The nice thing about the way I did mine, is cost isn't much, if the mast is off the boat. And as far as I can tell, it is at least as strong as the origional, and since it's hidden under the floor looks aren't so important.