How do I fix the bend in my mast?

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Sail123

Sail123

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Oct 6, 2011
678
CM 32 USA
BobM said:
...and it does weaken a bit...and some day far from now it breaks...have you really lost anything?
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Depends where your neck is at the time.

If I had a faulty glove box door in my car, I might try to rig that some way to stay closed. If I had a faulty brake pedal in my car, I believe I would get that fixed the best way I could.

Wind is a funny thing. It smacks right between the eyes, out of nowhere sometimes. Violent storms, fierce winds, pounding. To have a mast over head that one knows is already tried and failed, and to use it again, is not something anyone should mess with, from a prudent standpoint. Would you sell the sailboat with a back yard straightened mast to a guy with a young family?

Someone here can give you Roger MacGregors phone number. Call him and ask him what he thinks you should do.
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
The more you know about metals the more confidant you can be about working them. Aluminum is notch sensitive but is also very malleable. Smooth bends will not weaken the mast but with the bend that is there it will always be out of column and subject to compression failure.
 
Sumner

Sumner

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Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
I'm not saying that the strength of the mast before and after a repair shouldn't be taken into account, but I'm not sure I've ever read a post about a mast breaking on a trailer sailboat and all of the standing rigging being intact.

I've read of masts breaking or coming down after the shrouds or forestay on these boats broke, but that was after a rigging failure first that then led to a broken or bent mast.

I have a feeling that there is a pretty big safety factor for masts for the sailboats in this range (trailerable) and the conditions that they will be used in.

I guess I'd be more concerned about all of the boats out there with 20-40 year old standing rigging,

Sum

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RichH

RichH

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Feb 14, 2005
4,773
Tayana 37 cutter; I20/M20 SCOWS Worton Creek, MD
If the mast was in 'an accident' that produced this bend. Simply unload the rig tension and see if that doesnt allow the mast to 'come back into straight column'. Then 'retune' the rig back to normal.
If that corrects the bend ... then strongly suggest that you carefully investigate your portside CHAINPLATE for slippage/breakage, etc.

If the mast is permanently bent .... call your insurance carrier or the person who caused the damage. A permanently bent mast is subject to whats known as "catastrophic Buckling Failure" and is easily further bent/broken by compression forces acting on the 'bend' - can be quite dangerous .... and easily leads to the 'complete buckling failure' which can happen sometimes with just small applied additional forces along the 'axis' of the mast.
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
RichH said:
If the mast was in 'an accident' that produced this bend. Simply unload the rig tension and see if that doesnt allow the mast to 'come back into straight column'. . A permanently bent mast is subject to whats known as "catastrophic Buckling Failure" and is easily further bent/broken by compression forces acting on the 'bend' - can be quite dangerous .... and easily leads to the 'complete buckling failure' which can happen sometimes with just small applied additional forces along the 'axis' of the mast.
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The load can be applied by the mailsail.
 
W

Winkfish

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Jul 28, 2010
914
Boston Whaler Montauk New Orleans
If the mast is bent, and once it is straightened, would adding supports, say strips of stainless or aluminum, down each side of the mast help with the structural integrity? I mention it because I have a knee brace at home with the supports along the side from an old injury. Worked for my knee.
 
BobM

BobM

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Jun 10, 2004
3,269
S2 9.2A Winthrop, MA
Yes and no...

Winkfish said:
If the mast is bent, and once it is straightened, would adding supports, say strips of stainless or aluminum, down each side of the mast help with the structural integrity? I mention it because I have a knee brace at home with the supports along the side from an old injury. Worked for my knee.
Click to expand
You need to avoid dissimilar metals for salt water use, but some sort of sleeve is perhaps worth considering. Personally I would just try as hard as I could to straighten it without kinking it.
 
RichH

RichH

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Feb 14, 2005
4,773
Tayana 37 cutter; I20/M20 SCOWS Worton Creek, MD
Ross said:
The load can be applied by the mailsail.
Click to expand
Yup, partly correct. Its the side forces that 'drive' the buckling failure, if the mast is bent the action of 'side forces' are already inherent to the 'shape' of the bent mast.

Take a yardstick, put and 'end' on the ground and hold it vertical with your hand and add pressure down (compressing the stick) with that hand ..... THEN add just a wee bet of side force to near the 'middle' with a free finger as see 'how easy' it is to bend that yardstick ---- buckling failure.
 
finding41

finding41

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Nov 23, 2011
2,023
MacGregor 26D London Ontario Canada
It is Strait!

First. Thanks for all the discussion on the topic of safety and weather it could be straitened. There are a bunch of really good thoughts on the subjects.
I plan to put a note about the mast straitening in the boat file so if I ever get rid of it the mast and the farrow cement ballast will be noted. (Yes someone put cement in the water ballast tank in the V berth area.) {I'm told it's a cheating technique to lengthen the water line. Very sneaky. }
I had a very productive day. I had a hand today and pulled the boat out and dropped the mast and straitened it between 2 wood posts. (Sounds simple...it really was.) Gentle bends and about 30 min and it was ready to put back on.
My first idea of between 2 trees and a come-along wouldn't work with the way it was bent and the shape of the mast. (It would kind of twist around when we put pressure on it.) So we went to 2, 8x8 posts about 7' apart that keep cars off the grass and went really gently and slow.
A couple of the club members came by and watched/ helped. Until I said I was going to drill holes in the boat below the water line. Then I showed them how to use butyl tape.
I got the transducer mounted and wire run to the fish finder as well. Built a prototype swing out arm to hold the fish finder in the companionway and fold in to the cabin.
Pulled out the dagger board and checked it for cracks and ablative paint. Replaced the pull rope to it. Put a solar anchor light on top of my mast. (Its just a cheap solar lamp and probably not to the 2 mile speck but I don't plan on anchoring anywhere over night but on our small lake. I haven't got the LED one I ordered yet...)
In the pictures the mast is not tuned. All the stays and shrouds are loose. I'm going to ask around the club for a louse gauge. (There's probably one in the sailing school/boat leasing building.)
The picture of the mast in my hand shows a mark/dent/scratch on the top of the mast.
Last picture is the wire for the transducer and the handy little sticky things that hold the zip ties. (princessauto.com)
 

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BobM

BobM

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Jun 10, 2004
3,269
S2 9.2A Winthrop, MA
Re: It is Strait!

Awesome! Congratulations. Quite a day for the log book.
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
Re: It is Strait!

Excellant!!!
 
MrBee

MrBee

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Dec 30, 2008
425
Irwin 34 Citation Middle River, Md.
Well I stand corrected,
My first post was based on your first post where nothing was said about the previous owner having the same issue.
I sailed a Catalina 22 with a slight bend, happened when the boat was knocked of here stands during a tornado. It didn't bother me but I wasn't racing. If your doing a lot of hard sailing you may want to keep an eye out on ebay or some of the salvage yards for another mast.

Brian
 
Ross

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
For all of the doubters here I suggest that you buy a length of aluminum tube from HD and bend it about a quarter diameter per foot with a long radius bend and then bend it back straight. You will learn that small deformations are not very harmful but large deformations can be.
 
finding41

finding41

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Nov 23, 2011
2,023
MacGregor 26D London Ontario Canada
As for racing, I'm just doing it at out club on a small lake to learn what I'm doing. Or supposed to be doing! I only ever sailed a Sunfish and the odd wind surfer and that was 25 years ago. The members at the club tell me that racing with the club will get me to know the boat better and how to use it. (I'm still new to the whole jib thing.)
I am going to keep an eye out for a used mast just in case.
Thanks again.
 
Don12364

Don12364

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Dec 2, 2003
1,637
Hunter 376 Warsash, England --
Told Ya So.
Would have been tempted to cushion the points where the extrusion contacted the posts to avoid possibility of local flattening of the section.
 
justsomeguy

justsomeguy

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Feb 20, 2011
8,057
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
Donalex said:
Told Ya So.
Would have been tempted to cushion the points where the extrusion contacted the posts to avoid possibility of local flattening of the section.
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As your compatriots used your body?:D
 
finding41

finding41

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Nov 23, 2011
2,023
MacGregor 26D London Ontario Canada
Donalex said:
Told Ya So.
Would have been tempted to cushion the points where the extrusion contacted the posts to avoid possibility of local flattening of the section.
Click to expand
The 8x8's were kind of squishy. If they were new I would have used old cushion foam or something similar.
 
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