Posting some pictures of my Hunter 31 rotting compression post fix.
I fabricated two butt plates from 1/4 inch plate stainless steel. 3.5 inches by 8 inches.
I also cut a 1.5 inch piece of 3 inch square tube to go between the top butt plate and the mast step as the cross member was suspect at best.
I then used a dado blade to hollow out the old compression post to allow for a 1.5 inch stainless square tube for the vertical support.
Drilled four holes in each butt plate to allow for screws to hold in place. You can see where I notched out the top butt plate to allow for mast wiring to run down the existing wire channel as before.
I did also shorten the old compression post .25 inches on both ends to account for the new butt plates.
The whole project cost roughly $100 in materials I purchased from a local metal supplier. The had a scrap area where they sold stainless steel by the pound. Hope this helps with ideas for anyone facing the same problem.
BTW - I did have to jack up the cross member to it's original height to get the refurbished post back in. I will also be sealing the mast wiring pass through to prevent future water entry.
I fabricated two butt plates from 1/4 inch plate stainless steel. 3.5 inches by 8 inches.
I also cut a 1.5 inch piece of 3 inch square tube to go between the top butt plate and the mast step as the cross member was suspect at best.
I then used a dado blade to hollow out the old compression post to allow for a 1.5 inch stainless square tube for the vertical support.
Drilled four holes in each butt plate to allow for screws to hold in place. You can see where I notched out the top butt plate to allow for mast wiring to run down the existing wire channel as before.
I did also shorten the old compression post .25 inches on both ends to account for the new butt plates.
The whole project cost roughly $100 in materials I purchased from a local metal supplier. The had a scrap area where they sold stainless steel by the pound. Hope this helps with ideas for anyone facing the same problem.
BTW - I did have to jack up the cross member to it's original height to get the refurbished post back in. I will also be sealing the mast wiring pass through to prevent future water entry.
