Mast Step Repair

[Dennis Oelrich]

I will be pulling the mast this winter on my 1980 Hunter 30. It has what I think is a typical problem of compressed deck and a dropped floor which lowers the mast an inch or two and causes all kinds of rigging problems.When pulling the mast is the mast wiring connected by plug-ins? Will the mast be corroded to the mast step or will it lift off easily? All suggestions regarding the keel to mast support and the deck rebuilding will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jay Hill]

Mast Unstepping

Just did my H31 in September during a move; it's a 1985 model. The mast is aluminum and the step plate is stainless steel with aluminum guide plate installed. You should not see corrosion; mast will lift right off. But be careful to lift it only an inch or two until you get the chance to disconnect the wires underneath. I have not found connectors on any of my three hunters; the wires are connected with waterproof (heat-shrunk) butt connectors. I strongly recommend that you put a connector on the boat and the mast for re-stepping! Make sure it's a waterproof type. The problem is usually finding a connector with both coax and wire type pins.As for the compressed deck/floor, if you are experiencing two full inches of upper deck compression causing the mast to be two full inches shorter in height, that sounds like A LOT of deck compression. Two inches might be enough to replace the entire deck? Sounds like there would be stress fractures for several feet around the mast step. My rigger measured 1/8" compression after full tuning. Sorry, no suggestions on the keel to deck support.Jay

 

[Karl Berntson]

Compression Post

Dennis,I just removed the teak on two sides of the compression post on my '77 H30.The plywood is slightly compressed, about 1/8" to 3/16". The compression post is solid but wet at the top. The mast appears low by about 3/16" at the top of the cabin. However, I think I have a saturation problem in the area around the mast. The problem maifests itself by the door to head not fitting right when closed. First it is very low and the port side is down, so when closed the bottom of the door is tight agains the starboard side, there is a couple of inches gap at the top corner.If you actually have a 2" compression, I suspect that your plywood at the bottom of the post is deteriorated and possibly the I-beam has given way.Keep me posted on your progress.Good Luck and Happy Holiday SeasonKarl Berntson

 

[SCA]

H30 Mast step

Just fixed the mast step and keel step (is that the proper terminology ?) on my 77 H30. The mast step had compressed the deck between it and the compression post. Rebuilt this area using epoxy. Core was not rotted. Placed a 1/4 inch aluminum plate under mast step to increase bearing surface. Plate approx 1 inch larger around than mast step. At the keel the I beam was OK. However it did not appear to have ever been installed correctly (by Hunter I suppose). Top of I-Beam was not flush with plywood supporting the compression post. I used Gluvit marine epoxy to create a flush fit between I-Beam and the new 3/4 inch piece of marine plywood that is now supporing compression post.On my 77 the mast simply lifts out of the step. The mast has sorta of a rectangular peg in the bottom and the step has a rectangular hole (slot) for it to fit into. This boat has all wiring to mast via an external waterproof deck connector.Total mast compression was approx 3/4 inch on this boat. After I fixed the step and added the new bearing plate the mast was approx 1" higher. Rigging still fits fine. Currently I am replacing the main bulkhead ( Was leaking through port chainplate before I got the boat)Good luckSCA