Mast Support in Cabin '87 H32

[salemsailor]

Hi. Need a bit of help.
My '87 Hunter 32's vertical support 'beam' inside the cabin is buckling. It sits right under the mast so I'm assuming that over the years the flex of in/out of the water has put a strain on the cabin top. This is the beam that also serves as the door molding for the head.

Question: Before I remove the woodwork, is there a steel support of some sort for the mast ? Is the woodwork just cosmetic or is it actually helping the cabin from collapsing under the mast's pressure.

Any help much appreciated

 

[Don Crowther]

If it's buckling I doubt there's a steel support. The woodwork is just trim. I would prop it up before doing anything so you have some support under the mast. There are some repairs listed in the hunter34 mod. They might turn up if you do a search.
Hope this helps.
Don

 

[salemsailor]

If it's buckling I doubt there's a steel support. The woodwork is just trim. I would prop it up before doing anything so you have some support under the mast. There are some repairs listed in the hunter34 mod. They might turn up if you do a search.
Hope this helps.
Don

Thanks Don! I checked out the 34 mod by Claude Auger...very helpful; hoping I don't have to go to that length!

 

[shemandr]

There are two common reasons for buckling. One is better than the other. If the support for the compression post is rotting in the bilge the post will sink into it. That's the better option. The other is that the deck around the mast is softening from water in the core. That is a bigger repair.
Don't remove the post without finding a way to support the cabin top. Maybe a Lolli Column. Maybe a jury rig. Avoid point loading. And having a jack ready may be necessary to restore the deck level. And yes, it would be better to remove the mast first which you may have to do anyway if you get into a deck repair.