Removing the compression post, Hunter 336

[neilmcc]

I have a couple of jobs to do which it looks like will require the un-stepping of the mast and the removal of the compression post.
We have a leak which runs down the compression post and it looks like it is coming from under the mast.
I will also try to free the counterbalance weight for the saloon table when I have the post out.
Has anyone any experience of removing the compression post and are there any pitfalls I should be aware of?

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

The mast leak should not require you to remove the post. All that is necessary is to put a drip loop on the cables, seal the step and clean out all 3 drain holes in the step.

 

[neilmcc]

Thanks Don,
I'll have a look at all of that once the mast is down.
It would be good not to have to remove the compression post although I would like to sort out the counterbalance weight.

 

[Rick]

Neil the way I understand it is Hunter made the wiring conduit in the mast too short which causes overflow and leaking down the compression post. Really bad idea. It gets into and rusts out the counterweight freezing it. Your right in the fact that you have to unstep the mast to do a proper fix. I have tried everything afore mentioned which did not work because of the root of the problem. I wouldnt think removing the compression post after the mast is stepped would not be "a big deal".

I personally have those same two symptoms with my boat. Someday will have to tackle it also.

Good luck and let us know.

 

[neilmcc]

Got the mast removed on Friday and I am still a bit puzzled....

This is a photo of the mast step after the mast was removed. The mast step sits on top of a stainless steel plate which the compression post is joined onto underneath.
The material in the tube shown is some silicone sealant the P.O. or someone else had put in (it didn't seal the hole).
This tube is open to the top of the compression post and slightly to the inside of the boat roof.
I don't know why this tube is there and it is the only route for water from the mast step into the boat.

This photo shows the hole into the boat where the water ran down the outside of the compression post.


Excuse my crude drawing but this shows where the water was entering inside and outside the compression post.

The question now is whether to remove the compression post or just seal the whole thing properly and live with the fact that the counterbalance weight will be stuck for ever?
There are no visible drain holes from the inside of the mast step but water does drain to the outside around the join with the stainless plate when I cleaned the inside of the mast step.

Is the mast step and the compression post held in place by the large Phillips head screws shown in photo 1?
If I remove these screws should the compression post and the top plate lift out of position?

I am open to questions and suggestions as to what to do about this.

 

[robertsapp]

I can't offer any suggestions, but please continue posting pictures of what you find, as I will need to do this job eventually. I don't know what type of pin was originally used to secure the base of the compression post inside the boat to the fitting at the cabin sole, but the previous owner of my 336 replaced it with a stainless steel pin that seems undersized. It's smaller than the holes in the post support and has become slightly bowed, and I'm also getting some gel coat cracking up on deck on either side of the mast, which tells me the compression post has dropped a small amount. I'll eventually need to take down the mast, remove the compression post and use a stouter pin or bolt to support the bottom end of the post to stop the deck deflection so that I can fix the gel coat cracks. Anything I can learn from your project will help me plan the job.

 

[neilmcc]

It's my intention to attempt to remove the deck plate and the compression post this weekend although the weather here may beat me.
Now that the mast is down I have removed the bolt at the bottom of the post. It looked a bit too small for the hole also and the post is sitting inside the collar with a slight overlap at the hole.
There is a slight drop apparent on the deck around the mast step and I will hopefully be able to rectify this with a new pin etc at the bottom of the post and lift the plate by the couple of millimeters it needs to fix things up top.
I'll try to take more photo's and report on progress.

 

[neilmcc]

An update

The four phillips head screws which hold the mast step onto the top of the compression post plate are totally siezed and were going to tear long before they loosened.
I don't have time to drill these out and replace them this winter so that will have to wait until next year when I can get the boat inside for the winter and will deal with the counterbalance weight then also.

Robert, On further examination it shows that the bottom of the compression post rests on the baseplate and that the pin is only to stop any rotational force.
Having jacked the post up it appears that there has been around a 6mm (1/4") drop in the position of the post. I take it this is down to compression over the years. The baseplate is held in place with four coachbolts into what I take to be wood under the fibreglass.
At the moment I intend to lift the baseplate and put another piece of stainless steel under it to build things up to where they should be, which should help the draining away from the mast step also.

The removal of the compression post will have to wait.

 

[robertsapp]

Re: An update

Thanks for the info. Since I've yet to pull my post, I don't know if mine rests on the baseplate or not, but I have noticed that the pin in mine is slightly bowed into a shallow "U" shape, so I inferred that it was holding the post clear of the baseplate and had bent some from the compression. I'll be surprised if there is any wood underneath the post base, as it's mounted on one of the transverse fiberglass pan stringers or box beams, which is then bonded to the hull forward of the keel sump. I know there's some plywood core in the pan liner under the cabin sole, but I thought the stringers were solid glass. I did ask Hunter once what I should do about the compression post sagging, and they replied that I should drill holes through the support under the baseplate and inject epoxy. Personally, that didn't sound right to me.

I've decided to put off pulling mine until next year as well. I'll be interested to know how you progress when you finally tackle this project.

 

[neilmcc]

I'll take some more photographs when I remove the coach bolts again and will try to show the drop.
The pin was bowed on mine too which I reckon was due to the drop of the baseplate. I don't know if the sag is at the bottom plate, the top plate or a bit of both but when I jacked the whole post up my 6mm things looked a lot better.
I'll replace the pin with a straight one anyway once I've raised the base plate.

 

[amystic]

These are great pictures and will be very informative for any 336 owner. Please take a look at my new posted pictures and comments under my thread titled " compression post dropping" I believe my fix worked as I have stopped the puddle from forming near the mast step on my 336. I figure I raised my compression post 5/8 of an inch.

I just have given up on and counter weight repair and just manhandle the table up and down. It is tough but not that tough. I agree with Robert that the plate that supports the compression post sits on solid fiberglass. I also have a hard time believing that the compression post is supported by the staineess bolt that runs horizontally at the base of the post. I have to believe that the compression post sits firmly on the stainless plate.

My biggest problem now is moisture rotting my teak and holy flooring around the compression pole base. I think I may have remedied that by removing a substantial amount of dirt from inside my mast base. Hopefully the weep holes will now not be blocked.Only time will tell.

 

[amystic]

Neilmcc, I have one other question. In the pics of your mast step I do not see any wiring. I thought the wiring supplying everything on the mast came up thru the mast step?

 

[neilmcc]

The missing wiring

Amystic,
Thanks for the photo's you posted too. I used exactly the same method to raise the compression post.
For some reason on my 336 the wiring all comes out at the front of the mast and through a wiring gland into the space in the roof.
I presumed that the tube on the inside of the mast step was to run the wiring but ours doesn't go there. I think maybe the PO moved the wiring to stop the drips down the post but too late to stop the counterweight seizing.
So far my sealing of the top of the compression post appears to have stopped the water running down there but I will have to lift it some more to dissipate the water from around the mast step.
I still have another 1/4" plate which I will put in place when I get the time.
I'll keep everyone posted when I do any other jobs.