mast support pole please help

[jim pixton]

I have a 1978 33 hunter in show room condition. Last fall i had the boat hauled and the mass unsteped so I could add some electronics. last week the mass was resteped and the boat put back in the water.When i raise the cabin floor board to check for leaks i noticed the mass support pole is in two pieces and had slid almost off the piece of support pole that comes off the top of the keel. Hunter techs. tell me they really don't know what holds the two pieces together it could be sleve that goes inside the to poles or it could be a clamp.A sleve will not work because of the elec. wires that would be in the way. the original owner says he never saw a clamp. i am now afraid to sail the boat for fear the two poles will come apart. please help if you have any knowledge of how this was put together at the factory. thank you in advance. jim e-mail jimlin@olg.com

 

[Tim Schaaf]

two pieces?

I am not clear at all with regard to your mention of two poles; on my boat ('80), there is a single, black painted, aluminum support pole which runs from a pad on underside of the overhead down into what appears to be a fiberglass block on top of the keel. It would not surprise me if there were some wood or metal in this block. I have had some corrosion around the hole where the mast wires exit this pole, enough to wonder about, not enough to worry about. I would say the hole started about ten years ago, and has got slightly bigger. But I am at a loss about the two poles, clamps, sleeves, and whatnot you mention.

 

[capt john edwards]

your right

I have the same baot and I just did a massive refit. There is a clamp that is intended to go around both poles. There are atotal of four stainsteel bolts. two on each side. They had to be taken off and lost at some time. I ask hunter customer service. They are trwo half moons that clamp together. good luck