Dreaded Mast Step Compression

[Gary W. Trew]

PICTURES ANYONE?My boat is currently suffering from the above malady and I have found excellant info (Gawd, I love these sites!) but I am more of a visual input guy. There are picts by "John from Annapolis" (thanks John) and I'm wondering if there are any more posted out there.I'm also curious about re-installing the removed mast-step/cabin-top after the core and underlying mast-step material have been repaired/replaced. Am I correct to assume that the removed piece is just epoxied back into place? Or, is it faired back into the existing top for better structural support?Many thanks in advance. Gary

 

[David]

Faired back in, or rebuilt

You always fair in fiberglass repairs - get any book on the subject, and they will inform you of the technoque.Rebuilding the step is also feasible. You just need to replace the deck itself with layers of the same thickness, and then the step (a piece of plywood epoxied to the new deck, and covered with a layup of glass).Note that there are two layers of glass. One is the deck itself, and the other the cover over the plywood.DavidLady Lillie