help! My 1984 h 34 mast foot was damaged when mast was removed! The bolts securing the foot to the deck / post are they machine bolts and can I unscrew them without removing the wood surrounding the beam inside? Or are they lag screws? What am I up against here when trying to remove the foot? Tx CR
H 34 mast foot
- Thread starter hunter healer
- Start date
Those are machine bolts that are threaded into an aluminum plate which is embedded in the fiberglass. That plate is almost as big as the raised area under the mast. You can unscrew the bolts to remove the step. You may need an impact driver to release them.. the stainless bolts and the aluminum plate will sometimes freeze together..
I might also try dousing them with the PB Blaster brand penetrant a few times, and tapping the bolt heads a bit to get some vibration going. That brand seems to have a more aggressive formulation to dissolve the oxides than say WD40, IMHO.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,390
I'd say your up near a rock and trying to avoid a hard place.
PB Blaster recommendation of Isack's is spot on. Kloudi's impact driver suggestion will save your arm muscles and maybe a boat. You are going to need a new mast base. Depending on how the base was bedded you may have a challenge in removing it. Pray they did not use 5200. (I mean down on your knees prayers) If 5200 was used it may well be chisels and hope you can get the base off with minimal damage to the deck.
Repair of the deck if damaged. Reinstall the base (be smart use Dolfinite Bedding Compound or 3M's 4000/4200 so next time it can be serviced without damage to the boat). Consider the wires in the mast. You will want to avoid water coming down the wires from entering the deck. One idea is to establish a "drip loop"
It is not impossible but will require planning and a little skill. You got this.
PB Blaster recommendation of Isack's is spot on. Kloudi's impact driver suggestion will save your arm muscles and maybe a boat. You are going to need a new mast base. Depending on how the base was bedded you may have a challenge in removing it. Pray they did not use 5200. (I mean down on your knees prayers) If 5200 was used it may well be chisels and hope you can get the base off with minimal damage to the deck.
Repair of the deck if damaged. Reinstall the base (be smart use Dolfinite Bedding Compound or 3M's 4000/4200 so next time it can be serviced without damage to the boat). Consider the wires in the mast. You will want to avoid water coming down the wires from entering the deck. One idea is to establish a "drip loop"
It is not impossible but will require planning and a little skill. You got this.
I don't remember what the foot looks like on my other h34 but based on my picture here how much of the step was lost in the bad de maskting job?
Hi, I got the foot off easily only the bolts were packed with 4200. I need a pic of a complete foot like mine for the machines to copy the height of the legs and etc. any help here would be greatly appreciated. Tx CR