It seems several models of 23 - 26 foot Hunters had a 1" mounting hole for the gin pole in the base of the mast. I want to know if people have had mast problems from using this system. I am rerigging an O'day 222 and I had US Spars make a mast raising pole and they used the system with a stainless steel pole with a birds mouth notch on one end and two eyes on the other. (photos attached). It works fine. I tension the jib halyard so the gin pole stays at a right angle to the mast and I have stabilized against mast side sway with two mast raising stays.
I did not want a large hole in the mast but wanted a U-shaped yoke welded to the end of the gin pole that fit over the mast and secured with a bolt. They riveted another mast section over the mast to reinforce the hole, but I am still concerned with the hole "wallowing out" or leading to cracks and mast failure. It also seems like asking for corrosion problems in salt water sailing to have stainless steel rivets in the aluminum spar down where salt water will always splash.
What problems have people had with this system and are the problems common?
I did not want a large hole in the mast but wanted a U-shaped yoke welded to the end of the gin pole that fit over the mast and secured with a bolt. They riveted another mast section over the mast to reinforce the hole, but I am still concerned with the hole "wallowing out" or leading to cracks and mast failure. It also seems like asking for corrosion problems in salt water sailing to have stainless steel rivets in the aluminum spar down where salt water will always splash.
What problems have people had with this system and are the problems common?
