Replacing a mast…and going taller?

[KayakUpgrade]

I have a Catalina 25 standard rig bought 5 years ago. The first time we raised the mast we dropped it when it was about half way up. Whoops! The mast itself got two cracks in the bottom few inches. I never got it fixed or even looked at, and have casually sailed since then. But on the really windy days I catch myself wondering how that crack is doing. I don’t think the cracks have changed much since it fell.
I live in Alaska, important info for two reasons: First, not a ton of perfectly sized masts up here to just get another easily and expensive to get one up here from anywhere else. Second, it’s colder and rainier here than would be ideal for sailing. I’d love to get a Bimini type covering to protect the cockpit when underway.
A mast has recently popped up on marketplace close by. Measurements suggest it’s about the same diameter and a bit taller than a Catalina 25 tall rig mast. I’m considering getting the mast, cutting it to the length of a tall rig mast (to make rigging the boat easier) but mounting the boom up by 2 feet. I’d keep my sail and boom and gain clearance for some sort of cockpit cover.
I’ve included some pictures of my broken mast.
How concerned should I be in replacing my mast?
What should I look for in a used mast to make swapping it easier?
Would raising the whole sail up by two feet cause any significant issues with the performance of the boat?
How hard is it to swap over, replace hardware, spreaders, etc for a mast swap?
Lastly, given my bad experience raising a mast before, any idea how much harder raising the tall rig mast is compared to the standard rig? We have a much better system down, but my wife is still traumatized.

 

[danooxnard]

Any thoughts on welding the cracks to repair the mast you have?

 

[dlochner]

A taller mast with the sail raised higher will raise the center of effort and center of gravity of the boat. This will cause the boat to heel more and heel at lower wind speeds.

Welding and reinforcing the mast at the base might be an option.

 

[shemandr]

A friend with a Ranger 26 raised his boom by about a foot or so. Of course he had to re-cut the main. That is a mast head rig so the main is smallish to begin with. It looked kind of silly but he sailed the boat basically to his PHRF number after. On that boat the jib is the engine and the main just steers the sail plan.
I don't know enough about the different iterations of the Catalina 25 to comment on the tall vs standard rig or converting a standard rig to a tall rig.

 

[Joe]

Weld the cracks, then consider welding a reinforcement band around the base. Good to go. If you don't like the layout of this boat, perhaps finding a different boat makes more sense. Once you alter this boat beyond recognition, you lose its resale value.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I'd be nervous that it'd split more raising the mast. Moving all the rigging over will be a large project. I'd find a good fabricator to fix it.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Those cracks are mostly a concern during mast raising. When set, the forces are primarily downward on those cracks. Weld and reinforce, like @Joe suggests. If you change your mast, you'll need all new standing rigging and probably new running rigging, as well as new sails. Your boat's ballast was designed for that boat. The cable sizes were selected for that sail plan.

It appears the Catalina Tall Rig had the same 1900lbs ballast as the regular rig. By the accounts I've read, the tall rig is more tender, heeled much easier (makes sense). I wouldn't keep pushing on that.

Your mast foot is repairable. I've never been to Alaska, but I would guess, like my own isolated area of northern New Hampshire, there's no shortage of custom fabrication shops of all kinds. People are use to fixing and making due in places like these.

-Will

 

[jssailem]

I agree with the "Weld the Cracks" suggestions. A new mast is not needed for those cracks. Further use in the current condition will cause further cracking, and the base of the mast is likely to fail. A good aluminum welder can inspect the metal and tell you if the surrounding metal is sound. You can also approach the problem by welding a sleeve over the cracked section.

Not sure why you would want to go to a "Tall Mast". If you want the boom higher because it feels better, then you can have a foot of the main sail removed. I suspect you're not racing, or you would be looking for ways to make the sail bigger.

Extending the mast starts to engage the geometry of the sail plan. It will require changes to the spreader height, longer shrouds, new halyards, perhaps new sails, etc.

The Tall rig puts the top of the sail 3 feet higher. The boom remains the same height. If you move the boom 3 feet higher, then use the current standard mast sail, it will be like putting the 200-pound 12-year-old on the teeter-totter opposite the cute 60-pound redhead from the 3rd grade. While you are using the same 270sqft of sail (standard mast height), you will have moved the sail force 3 ft higher in the air. The performance of the boat will significantly change, and likely not in a good way.

It is your boat, and you get to make the call.

 

[Timm R Oday25]

So now to yet another viewpoint . While welding is definitely a viable option .
Depending on the cost of the mast and transportation concerns ,I would seriously consider
replacing the mast and keeping the mast the same height .