Mast Base Rivet Holes Sheared

Jun 28, 2016
334
Hunter 23.5 Paupack, PA
Please post pics when you are done. Sounds like an interesting problem to solve.
Oh definitely. I was a little surprised my search for a solution here on SBO turned up precious little (I always try to scour the forum before posting - it has resolved many issues for me in the past). That leads me to believe this is a trivial problem to solve (extra rivets, doubler, banding, welding, etc.), and that I was likely overthinking it. I certainly found nothing about a mast "buckling" from any repair technique at the base, but a few stories about mast splices snapping up near the spreaders. But there was one rebuke for gluing the damn foot in, which in this era of space age adhesives, seemed like a good solution to me! Thanks, I'll definitely post some closure down the road.
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Oh definitely. I was a little surprised my search for a solution here on SBO turned up precious little (I always try to scour the forum before posting - it has resolved many issues for me in the past). That leads me to believe this is a trivial problem to solve (extra rivets, doubler, banding, welding, etc.), and that I was likely overthinking it. I certainly found nothing about a mast "buckling" from any repair technique at the base, but a few stories about mast splices snapping up near the spreaders. But there was one rebuke for gluing the damn foot in, which in this era of space age adhesives, seemed like a good solution to me! Thanks, I'll definitely post some closure down the road.
I knew the previous director of the Center for Adhesive Science at Virginia Tech. He told me that most modern airplanes are "Adhesively Welded". He then grinned at me and said "It makes the passengers uneasy if you say the plane is glued together".

Still makes me laugh when I think about it.
 
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Sep 30, 2016
339
Island Packet IP 44 Ventura, CA
“But how do you locate all the existing holes in the foot casting for new rivets?“

You could partially insert the mast base so the holes are at the bottom edge of the mast. Scribe a vertical line going through the hole center and up the mast. Then measure the vertical hole center and transfer to the mast.
 
Apr 27, 2010
1,236
Hunter 23 Lake Wallenpaupack
I would not glue. Or use anything that strongly attached the foot to the mast. If you lose control and the mast sways you'd rip the Tabernacle off the deck, maybe doing some nasty damage to the deck. Or break the castings. IMHO, let the softer aluminum rivets give way if it is going to tilt anyway.
 

GSBNY

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May 9, 2019
138
O’Day 192 New York
I forgot to post a picture of the spacer when the cut mast is up. I think it looks good and blends in decently. This was before I had a chance to remove the extra butyl squeeze out.

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