Hunter 260 Mast Foot loose?!? Help!

[SailingCockatoo]

Hey all! Long time lurker, first time poster!

Today, after dropping the mast on my 2002 Hunter 260, I noticed that there was a crack in the metal of the mast, near one of the rivets that attaches the mast foot plate to the mast. I was also able to "shake" the plate and it doesn't seem like it's very tight, possibly the other rivets are also loose. Not sure if I should just drill out a new hole and replace all the rivets? Or if there's a better option? I've included a few pictures of the base and a video showing how much play it has. Thanks!

 

[isaksp00]

You could get a pop rivet tool and some aluminum rivets and replace the loose ones. I had the mast on my 23 twist and rip the extrusion off the cast base. I jus riveted it back. IMHO you don't need an "extreme level" of attachment as the rivets probably serve little purpose after the mast is up. They function only while you are raising or lowering and there shouldn't be much stress then. Hopefully @Crazy Dave Condon will see this

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

@isaksp00

Sent p m to poster so I can talk with him.

I think he will be fine by placing additional pop rivits on each side of the bad rivit The heigh of the mast foot can be determined by sticking his finger inside the mast raising pole hole. Should tighten up the rest of the plate

I will be glad to talk with him.

 

[CrispyCringle]

Normally you could just drill out the old rivets and replace with new. But if you have a crack surrounding one of them, you will need to move the hole to another location. You can see from the pic of the mast foot in link that some places are better to drill than others. I would re drill a new hole for at least the one with the crack. But the others, you could go with just an oversize hole. H260 Mast Foot Pic