Mast Base Rivet Holes Sheared

[GGordonWoody]

Finally got the boat to the ramp this year and broke the base of the mast because I forgot to connect the shrouds in step 2 of the mast raising ceremony:

The baby stays were on, but without the shrouds connected the mast keeps going until, BANG! Both sides. Ugh. Fortunately, no other damage.


I resisted the philistine impulse to just blast away with more rivets, I mean, it would defy my principles to not pursue every possible, more expensive, time consuming alternative.

So I thought about TIG welding a patch on each side and called a welder experienced with welding aluminum (pontoons). His advice was "don't". 1) Heat anneals the Al and might make the area around the patch soft, 2) He would have to grind off the anodize to keep the arc happy (grounding). In addition, @Crazy Dave Condon cites Hunter directives against this, and @CloudDiver has warned of the perils of welding extruded aluminum. Still, I might be willing to send the rig off if there is technology available to overcome these pitfalls.

Thought about sawing it off and starting over, but that's complicated by shroud length, boom height, sail luff length, balance, rake, and probably the position of the moons around Pluto.

So am I looking at a replacement? Or should I cave to my uncultured instincts and blast away with more fasteners? The vessel is insured, but are they responsible for my inability to follow directions?

 

[JRacer]

Could you fabricate an aluminum plate for the outside that covers the tear and extends several inches from the rivet hole and rivet the plate in place as a "doubler" to give you new material to drill new holes for the original rivet placement? Same concept as welding it but without the heat issue.

 

[GGordonWoody]

Thanks, yeah, that’s good I think, like a riveted patch. I really haven’t read or thought of any negative aspects. Of course these ideas must be “pier” reviewed - lol. Thanks man.

 

[DrJudyB]

The vessel is insured, but are they responsible for my inability to follow directions?

Yes, that’s what insurance is for. It covers “operator error.” That results in damage to the insured boat.

Ask your agent what happens if yo repair it badly, and then the substandard repair subsequently fails p, and something or somebody gets damaged/injured. Ask if Your policy covers that.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Post photos of the entire base before doing anything as it may be a simple fix. But photos first please post photos

 

[AWalker]

JRacers idea is tops. I am a fab shop owner sand that is what I would do.

 

[CrispyCringle]

GGordon, really sorry about your troubles. Truly sux and cuts into sail time. That must have been quite the shocker when the mast just kept going forward! Yikes.

I personally would not go through insurance. Unless you bent the mast and it needs replaced. If its just repairing the base, I would do it myself (or hire it out). Insurance would probably go up, still pay deductible, etc.

Anyway, I think the simplest repair would just be to drill 4 new holes and re-rivet the mast to the base. A properly standing mast doesnt put a lot of bending stress on those rivets. All the force should be straight down. I re-revited my mast base (H 23.5) a few years ago. I used the same original holes, but larger rivets. My situation was, over the boats lifetime the rivets had become loose. Pretty easy job. Check the base of the mast for flatness. Over the years the mast had worn a very slight curve where it contacts the foot from rocking slightly with the worn out rivets. Only takes a good steel straight edge and a file. And lots of test fitting with the mast foot.

Here is a pic of my 23.5 mast base. For the non-H23.5 folks, the smaller angled pole is not normally installed and is part of the mast raising system. The pic was taken for another purpose. Just the best one I had of a 23.5 foot.

Looks like plenty of room to drill new rivet holes to me.



Shortening the mast doesnt seem like too bad of an idea, if you decide that route. I think the only hassle would be having to adjust the stay length and getting the mast cut perfectly square. My turnbuckles have way more than 3/4" between the two screws. Maybe 2". You will never know its a half inch shorter after the mast is up.

Im curious why the shrouds were disconnected? I never disconnect mine when in winter storage. I just leave the mast in its cradle. Plus those cotter pins are a beotch

 

[thinwater]

Without disrespecting Judy and Jracer (they are both right), I would take a second look at chopping off 3/4" (or whatever) and restepping. I suspect it will be within the range of adjustment and might be super easy and strong as new. Maybe. Check everything.

 

[Rick Webb]

The rivets are there principally to keep the base attached to the mast when not stepped.
The quick fix is to add more rivets. My concern would be that the holes where the rivets were will split as there is no support at the bottom of the hole any longer. Were it mine id finish out the summer with the additional rivets and then cut the mast at the top of the rivets holes cant imagine the half or three quarters of an in would be noticeable. The tough part will be cutting it straight and perpendicular to the mast. If you have a chop saw that might be the way to go.

 

[DrJudyB]

Without disrespecting Judy and Jracer (they are both right), I would take a second look at chopping off 3/4" (or whatever) and restepping. I suspect it will be within the range of adjustment and might be super easy and strong as new. Maybe. Check everything.

.

I agree with thinwater that chopping 3/4” and reattaching the foot using the same method of attaching as OEM is okay. The same goes for J racers suggestion of installing a doubler. Both methods are industry standard and are recommended practices.

In my previous post, I simply wanted to answer the OPs question whether or not insurance Will cover damage due to property due to his “ inability to follow instructions”. I didn’t intend to offer an opinion on how to repair the damage.

They are obligated to repair damage to your boat under the “property coverage
“ portion, even when it’s caused by operator error In contrast, the insurer may refuse to cover damage resulting from ill-advised repairs that were inferior to industry standardsof the industry or damage resulting from a badly engineered modification performed by the owner.

On edit: that’s how it works in my state. YMMV.

 

[isaksp00]

I'd do what CrispyCringle recommended. The rivets do essentially nothing once the mast is up. They only (IMHO) keep the base on the extrusion while you are raising lowering. If you can easily drill new holes to fit the 4 or 5 rivets you'd need, just re-rivet. Not sure if all holes were split or just the one.
FYI, I'd use aluminum not steel rivets. If the mast tilts again, best to sacrifice the rivets and not the mast or fitting.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

@GGordonWoody

First the original plans for the 23.5 were submitted to Hunter by me and as a dealer nearly sold a quarter of the production but mainly I worked on them as well. Your mast came from Z Spar and the manager and I were clos friends whom I consulted in problems like this.

First do not shorten the mast. If the standing rigging has stretched and you have some room left, by shortening the Standing rigging, you in essence will have loose rigging which you will have costs to repair. In addition, many do not cut the mast square and true causing additional problems.

per what was suggested by @CrispyCringle,
and Z Spar, I would simply removed the old pop rivets drilling four new holes using pop rivets to the mast base. As mentioned the loading is downward and would not affect the mast by adding additional pop rivets for securing the mast. Every fix this way I did held even one boat I recently saw performed over 20 years ago has held fast

 

[GSBNY]

I have the same issue right now and have my plan together finally. I’m going to cut 1” off the bottom of the mast to keep everything in spec and put a 1” spacer between the hinge and the deck. That will get me into fresh material to rivet to. Mast stays at the same height, step moves up 1” so I can clear my companionway better, and the shrouds won’t need any modification. I just need to get new bolts to match the extra 1” length.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

@GSBNY
Strongly suggest posting photo of the base of the mast

 

[GSBNY]

@GSBNY
Strongly suggest posting photo of the base of the mast

I can’t seem to find one anywhere on my phone. The forward “hole” is a triangular tear that’s about fairly wide at the base. The 2 aft holes are about the same if not worse. I may be able to put 2 rivets into the front of the mast but the sides/ rear is toast.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

What is the manufacturer of the mast

 

[DJN51]

What about putting a 2 in aluminum strap around base and tap and screw stainless screws instead of rivets to hold in place did this at spreaders on mine where they came loose 6 years ago worked great,Never a fan of rivets.

 

[GSBNY]

What is the manufacturer of the mast

Mine is a Z Spar, I forget the exact extrusion.

 

[DrJudyB]

I have the same issue right now and have my plan together finally. I’m going to cut 1” off the bottom of the mast to keep everything in spec and put a 1” spacer between the hinge and the deck. That will get me into fresh material to rivet to. Mast stays at the same height, step moves up 1” so I can clear my companionway better, and the shrouds won’t need any modification. I just need to get new bolts to match the extra 1” length.

View attachment 167394

That sounds like a good plan.

One of the sailing schools on San Francisco Bay has several boats in their fleet whose masts that have been fixed that way. I first worked on their fleet in 2013 or 14, and worked on them again earlier this year. That’s after about 5 years and 1500 days of use for each boat, in harsh conditions. The mast bases have held up without problems.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

@GSBNY
I still need a photo of the bottom of the mast