Help: Problem getting mast support beam back in place after re-fixing bulkheads

[Vega1447]

Hi all (I'm getting advice from Ray Steele & Steve Birch on this but in
case they are away & as I'm meeting boatyard tomorrow I'm posting to
list as well).

My boatyard have loosened stays and jacked up the coachroof fore & aft
of the mast beam then refixed the bulkheads to the lower hull.

The beam is correctly seated on top of the bulkheads ok & the boatyard
have stiffened the bulkheads with a vertical rib port & stbd.

The beam is still not fully restored to a vertical plane - the top of
the beam is not reseated with the stainless strip between it & the coach
roof.

(In other words, the top of the beam is still slightly aft of the base.)

The boatyard claim that they cannot get the beam fully back in vertical
plane without replacing the bulkhead - a huge amount of labour.

Surely all they have to do is sufficiently slacken the shrouds &
backstay - then tap beam into place with a mallet??????

Advice greatly appreciated as I'm meeting boatyard Saturday morning.

Thanks again,

John

--
John A. Kinsella Ph: +353-61-202148 (Direct)
+353-61-333644 x 2148 (Switch)
Mathematics Dept. e-mail: John.Kinsella@...
University of Limerick FAX: +353-61-334927
IRELAND Web: John Kinsella's Website

 

[johnadenney]

Hi John, I had a bit of trouble getting mine to fit properly and ended up using a bit of brute force to hammer it into place. If i remember rightly I also had to grind a mm or two off the stainless mast support plate. I guess it needs to be a tight fit anyway?

Hope you are well? I am busy renovating a barn at the moment but hope to get sailing again next year. Good luck with it.

 

[Vega1447]

John,
many thanks for that - it is great to hear from someone who has actually *done* it.
I'll print off and show to boatyard guy tomorrow.

Otherwise all well.

Good to hear from you - drop me an email if you plan a return visit to Ireland..

All the best
John V1447 Breakaway

 

[lewills30]

John, Are you taking pictures of all this? I have this coming up on my boat, like to see how all this works. Thanks,Larry Sent from Windows Mail From: John.KinsellaSent: ?Friday?, ?October? ?4?, ?2013 ?11?:?05? ?AMTo: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com



John,
many thanks for that - it is great to hear from someone who has actually *done* it.
I'll print off and show to boatyard guy tomorrow.

Otherwise all well.

Good to hear from you - drop me an email if you plan a return visit to Ireland..

All the best
John V1447 Breakaway

 

[Vega1447]

Hi Larry.

The boatyard guy did the job as I said.

When I me him at the weekend he convinced me that the refixing is
sound.

I agreed with him that when the boat is ashore with mast down this
winter he will reseat the beam in a true vertical plane.

It is only slightly off-vertical but I don't like it..

The reason that he gave for not doing it right when refixing the
bulkheads is that the lower face of the beam was kept off-vertical
by the upper face of the two "door-posts" which he says are not
flat.

This he claims prevented him from rotating the top of the beam
forward into a true vertical plane - without trimming the tops of
the door posts...

I'm not entirely happy with this explanation but as I'm not crossing
any oceans between now & December I agreed..

I have some photos of the coach roof jacked up but not very
informative.

Boatyard guy refixed the base of the bulkheads to inner hull using
M8 bolts (some of the old ones had bent).

He also stiffened the bulkheads with a vertical strut, port &
stbd.

Happy to take photos if asked..

John V1447 Breakaway

On 07/10/13 21:04, lewills30@...
wrote:

 

[brockhaus77]

 Hi John,this may be too late for now, but I find the argument with the door posts unconvincing. It is important to keep in mind that these are NOT supposed to act as support for the beam. After fixing my problem with compression (I had a significantly bent beam), there is now a visible gap between the top of those door posts and the beam on both sides - which doesn't harm anything (except perhaps aesthetics). So the boatyard could have perhaps just lowered the door posts a little bit, or shaved off a little at the top, or raise the beam a little more (before drilling new holes through the bulkheads). BTW, the door posts DO have a purpose (other than making the door close snugly): they keep the rather thin bulkhead from buckling where the load is the greatest. But, again, for that they don't need to transfer any downward load - a small gap both at the top and the bottom are normal.(You can see some pics in the Photo Albums, e.g. for VegaLyra)- Sebastian (VegaLyra 1060)

 

[lewills30]

Hi John, I am getting on this same task coming up. As I listen to you, I have an idea, if the bulkhead was moved back into the correct location by pushing up the mounting plate on the deck. One would think that the mast is what 32'-0" above the deck and the smallest degree change on the deck at the mast mounting plate location would push the mast aft or forward...depending on the degree change on the deck. If this was my problem, I would ask the boat yard to pull the mast into the correct position using the rigging and then look at the mounting plate on the deck in relationship to the mast. If you see a gap either front or back of the mast in the mount you know it is in the bulkhead repair. If the repair is ndone as you have stated, I would have them build me a S.S. shim and install between the deck and the mount to keep the mast where you need it. Bolt through the mount, through the shim , back through the deck and seal water tight. One would think that if they lifted the bulkhead it would have let the mast lay forward? I would use the rigging to set the mast and then look at what is going on at the mount. Larry V-2761