H-25 deck-stepped mast question.

[Art (for Earl)]

Well, we're having our property surveyed today and it turns out my surveyor, Earl, owns an H25. (Small world as I own an H37C and have gained so much from knowledgable Hunter/Cherubini owners and other postings on this site.) Earl has a '78 Hunter 25' (Cherubini) sloop recently acquired and launched. The mast is attached to the deck by a bolt that goes through the extrusion and through S/S brackets mounted on the deck. His question: Should there be a spacer plate mounted or just set in at the base of the mast, on top of the deck plate? He wonders this because when he fastened his shrouds & stays, they travelled down the threads all the way to reach tight. Also, at the front of the mast, there is enough room to stick his finger underneath between the mast and the deck. (This is only at the front, however, and he states the top of the mast doesn't appear to be raked aft.) The boat has sat since 1995 and it sounds to me as this could be a serious problem. I believe there's a compression post below on these boats. Maybe this has compressed down. Maybe there's a plate. This comes second hand, as I haven't seen the rig. I suggested (kind of demanded) he better figure this out before heading out with stays that are gonna set in a little and will need to be tuned once there's some load put on them. On my H37C there are a number of fixes that we all do to counteract the effects of wear & tear ...and age ...and less than perfect fabrication. If there's a compression post, could this be an H25 fix? I will go down to his boat this coming weekend but I thought one of you folks could let us know if he's missing a plate or if something is more serious.Any help will be greatly appreciated by Earl.

 

[S. Sauer]

Hunter 25 compression post

I had a 1979 Hunter 25 and noticed that the top of the compression post had been milled out significantly to allow for wires running up the mast. As a preventive maintenance proceedure, after taking down the mast for the winter, I removed the wood compression post from the boat and epoxied some mahogany sections into the top of the post to fill out it's original crossection. I don't know if you can evaluate the deflection of the cabin top if that compression post has already been 'crushed' to a shorter length, but it's a place to start. You may as well check all rigging points at the top of the mast and at the spreaders to verify that nothing else is out of whack. Good luck!

 

[David Foster]

Usually the step, not the post on smaller boats

On a 25 (or 27) the compression post is easy to check. Is it solid, good wood, especially at the top and bottom? If not, there is you problem, and the replacement is actually rather easy.The bottom (fiberglass floor resting on the grid which is glassed to the hull) is seldom the problem on these boats. If there is a depression around the foot of the mast, though this bears further investigation. The most common problem is rot of the wodden cores between the aluminum mast step and the compression post. (the aluminum step on our h27 is a 3-4 inch stub that is bolted through the deck and liner, and fits into the bottom of the mast - sounds like yours may be modified.) The "sandwich" under the aluminum step goes like this, top down:Aluminum step.Fiberglass layer around the step area.Wood layer 1. End balsa or plywood to add stiffness under the mast.The deck top fiberglass layer.Wood layer 2. Usually end balsa, but plywood has also been reported.Deck bottom fiberglass layer.Cabin liner - fiberglass.What happens is that water seeps into the bolt holes holding the aluminum step down, or along the pipe in the middle for the antenna and other wiring. It gets into the wood, and turns it to mush. Symptoms are:- The stays seem too long.- The cabin liner wraps around the compression post and cabin partition.- The cabin door (if you have one) won't slide.- The above two symptoms disappear when the mast is unstepped - you are probably going to have to unstep the mast to get to the bottom of this one.- A moisture survey meter detects excess moisture around the step area.A drill core sample shows rotted wood - this is a destructive test, but may be needed to see if both wood layers are affected. A substitute is the get the wire pipe out (no mean feat) and sample the wood to the sides of the pipe. The repair is to cut out top two the fiberglass layers to expose the step area. scrape back under the fiberglass until you get to clean wood. Let it dry out. Replace the wood with epoxy (and aluminum where appropriate - it's cheaper than epoxy, stiffer, and sets a whole lot faster!) Build the fiberglass layers back with the correct amount of taper (look this up if you you are doing it yourself) to ensure like new strength. Finish the top layer, and blend it into the deck. (You took pictures and measurements before you started, right?) Then drill/fill/drill for the wire pipe, and the bolts holding down the aluminum step. (Drill a hole bigger than you need. Fill it with epoxy. Let it harden, then drill the hole you need in the epoxy. This protects the wood layer from future water infusion with a layer of epoxy.Reassemble, and remount. Step and tune the mast, and sail away!You can do the job if you have the time, and willingness to learn how to do fiberglass. I lacked both, and had an excellent job done by a local yard with a good fiberglass reputation for about $1,100 on our h27. The key consideration is just the time to let all that epoxy set!This is not a difficult repair. And you can end up with a mast step as good (or better) than new.Good luck,DavidLady Lillie'77 h27