I have some corrosion at the base of my mast that must be attented to before I raise the sails again. Does anyone know what the mast step is made of on a 1975 Hunter 30 with a keel stepped mast? Also, what is the mast step attached to and how is it attached to the boat? Hunter is closed for vacation for two weeks and I need to get started with this project, or I'll just have a Condo at the slip. I was also told that the boat should have all of its rigging replaced if I don't know when it was last replaced. This sounds a bit radical to me being that it will cost about $1500 for the standing rigging. I know there have been other posts concerning deck stepped masts, but I have not seen anything about keel stepped masts on these 30's. thanks in advance for any input Barry
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
A
Art Barnes
Don't believe it!
I cant' answer your initial question about the mast step in your boat, but I can tell you that you don't need to replace you rigging just because it hadn't been replaced since it was new. That sounds like a "rigger" who is trying to sell you a "bill of goods". Have a good, reliable, experienced rigger look at you boat. Probably the rigging is just fine. Most of the modern wire will last an amazing amount of time. Look for wear, corrosion, and general appearance of shine. If all looks well, it probably is. Good luck and fariwinds, Art
I cant' answer your initial question about the mast step in your boat, but I can tell you that you don't need to replace you rigging just because it hadn't been replaced since it was new. That sounds like a "rigger" who is trying to sell you a "bill of goods". Have a good, reliable, experienced rigger look at you boat. Probably the rigging is just fine. Most of the modern wire will last an amazing amount of time. Look for wear, corrosion, and general appearance of shine. If all looks well, it probably is. Good luck and fariwinds, Art
E
Ed Schenck
Aluminum.
Barry, you never responded to the answers when you last asked this question(link below) but I'll try again. Seems part of the problem is most owners did not believe the H30 could be keel stepped. I was hopeful that Tom H. would reply because he is the person who had the new 4" taller step machined. Pretty sure it was from a block of aluminum. It is bolted to the keel. But why can you not just pull up the boards and check? You have to do this to get the mast out anyway. And you will have to pull the old step out to use as a pattern for a new one. So you will have all the answers in front of you. What am I missing here?
Barry, you never responded to the answers when you last asked this question(link below) but I'll try again. Seems part of the problem is most owners did not believe the H30 could be keel stepped. I was hopeful that Tom H. would reply because he is the person who had the new 4" taller step machined. Pretty sure it was from a block of aluminum. It is bolted to the keel. But why can you not just pull up the boards and check? You have to do this to get the mast out anyway. And you will have to pull the old step out to use as a pattern for a new one. So you will have all the answers in front of you. What am I missing here?
B
Barry
thanks Ed
Thank you Ed. I guess I just overlooked it. The fellow I talked with on the bay is a rigger and is supposed to be good, but he just seemed to alarm me when he talked about replacing all of the standing rigging and possible getting carpenters in to rework the mast step area. He didn't know if the step was aluminum or stainless. He guessed it was cast aluminum. I'll go in the archives and dig up that response again Thanks again Barry
Thank you Ed. I guess I just overlooked it. The fellow I talked with on the bay is a rigger and is supposed to be good, but he just seemed to alarm me when he talked about replacing all of the standing rigging and possible getting carpenters in to rework the mast step area. He didn't know if the step was aluminum or stainless. He guessed it was cast aluminum. I'll go in the archives and dig up that response again Thanks again Barry
Mast step supposition
I am pretty sure that questions about spars and mast steps like this can be answered by Sound Spars whom I believe provided the masts for early (Cherubini era) Hunters. My bet is that the mast step is aluminium for 3 reasons-- 1. easy and cheap to cast; 2. no bimetallic corrosion; 3. perfectly adequate in sheer and compression. The idea that it is stainless has no merit with me-- makes no sense whatsover when you consider the above. But then I am not looking down into Barry's boat!!! JC
I am pretty sure that questions about spars and mast steps like this can be answered by Sound Spars whom I believe provided the masts for early (Cherubini era) Hunters. My bet is that the mast step is aluminium for 3 reasons-- 1. easy and cheap to cast; 2. no bimetallic corrosion; 3. perfectly adequate in sheer and compression. The idea that it is stainless has no merit with me-- makes no sense whatsover when you consider the above. But then I am not looking down into Barry's boat!!! JC
About the rigging
BTW, Barry-- I agree with Art on the standing-rigging thing. I'll ask my brother the aeronautical engineer about it for you, but I am inclined to think even 25 years does not necessarily fatigue 304 SS stranded cable-- might even work-harden it. If the boat has been pounded (driven too hard for too long) or otherwise looks really beat, I might be inclined to change SOME of it (lowers first since they will save a dismasting). But again I am not looking at the boat, so use judgement. JC 2
BTW, Barry-- I agree with Art on the standing-rigging thing. I'll ask my brother the aeronautical engineer about it for you, but I am inclined to think even 25 years does not necessarily fatigue 304 SS stranded cable-- might even work-harden it. If the boat has been pounded (driven too hard for too long) or otherwise looks really beat, I might be inclined to change SOME of it (lowers first since they will save a dismasting). But again I am not looking at the boat, so use judgement. JC 2
T
Tom Hadoulias
Mast Step is Aluminum...
Barry, I believe all the Cherubini's of the era used Kenyon Spars exclusively. I re-did the step on my 37C as my mast was corroded severly at the base. The actual mast step is an aluminum 356 alloy casting and is extremely corrossion resistant. It was fine when I unsteped the mast. The problem was that Hunter welded the 356 casting to a 6061 plate of aluminum that bolted to the keel bolts. The combination of metals at the keel bolts caused the plate to corrode and since the step was welded to it it was scraped as well. Some of the Kenyon Spars are stocked by Rig-right. They are at www.rigright.com and you may get lucky and get a new step as I did. I removed 2" off the base of my mast, machined a new plate and added a 2" solid aluminum spacer to get back to the original height and welded the new mast step on top. This gets you back to the original mast dimensions and keeps the base of your mast out of the bilge water. I etched and treated with aircraft primer and this is a job that will not ever have to be done again. As far as the standing rigging is concerned, check some of the more recent posts on this forum, it's covered pretty well. I aggree with what everyone is telling you but if you want to be sure, have some dye penetrant placed on your lower swages and check for cracks. This is the most vulnerable area due to crevace corrossion from moisture. If they look good and are in good shape otherwise your probably OK up top. Wire can fatigue in other ways as well and it is possible to proof load the rigging by a competent shop if you feel strongly about it. Typically this is done to 150% of the maximum working load of the wire. If it fails though, it's a destructive test so you'll have to replace it anyway, if a couple fail, you need to consider replacing the entire rig. Most people don't go to this trouble, so if it looks good and isn't cracked it'll last for a little longer. Tom S/V Lite Chop
Barry, I believe all the Cherubini's of the era used Kenyon Spars exclusively. I re-did the step on my 37C as my mast was corroded severly at the base. The actual mast step is an aluminum 356 alloy casting and is extremely corrossion resistant. It was fine when I unsteped the mast. The problem was that Hunter welded the 356 casting to a 6061 plate of aluminum that bolted to the keel bolts. The combination of metals at the keel bolts caused the plate to corrode and since the step was welded to it it was scraped as well. Some of the Kenyon Spars are stocked by Rig-right. They are at www.rigright.com and you may get lucky and get a new step as I did. I removed 2" off the base of my mast, machined a new plate and added a 2" solid aluminum spacer to get back to the original height and welded the new mast step on top. This gets you back to the original mast dimensions and keeps the base of your mast out of the bilge water. I etched and treated with aircraft primer and this is a job that will not ever have to be done again. As far as the standing rigging is concerned, check some of the more recent posts on this forum, it's covered pretty well. I aggree with what everyone is telling you but if you want to be sure, have some dye penetrant placed on your lower swages and check for cracks. This is the most vulnerable area due to crevace corrossion from moisture. If they look good and are in good shape otherwise your probably OK up top. Wire can fatigue in other ways as well and it is possible to proof load the rigging by a competent shop if you feel strongly about it. Typically this is done to 150% of the maximum working load of the wire. If it fails though, it's a destructive test so you'll have to replace it anyway, if a couple fail, you need to consider replacing the entire rig. Most people don't go to this trouble, so if it looks good and isn't cracked it'll last for a little longer. Tom S/V Lite Chop
- Status
- Not open for further replies.