Splitting Mast

[P.J. Longwell]

Recently I discovered a vertical crack at the base of my mast approximately 1.5mm wide by 15mm long. The crack is along the forward seam, right at the apex of this "delta" shaped mast. There is a short post on the step plate just behind this crack. I am concerned that the internal lines that exit the base of the mast by turning on the internal blocks are exerting a lateral force on the base of the mast. I suspect that this pulling back on the base of the mast against the forward post of the step plate caused the crack.Team Catalina sent a patch kit. After drilling a hole at the end of the crack to prevent further spitting, an aluminum plate 1/4"x2"x2" was secured over the crack with 3M 5200 and 4 stainless steel self tapping screws.Needless to say I am concerned about the patch, and believe the split mast may reflect an underlying design problem. At least I don't have to look at the crack anymore!I would appreciate any information regarding this type of problem. Also an inspection of the base of your mast may be in order as the crack was rather subtle.

 

[charlie]

Mast crack up

Hi PJ,I also own a 28MKII but I have not seen this problem on my boat. I step the mast each year since I store the boat in my yard, and each spring I retune the rigging when the boat is launched. The lateral pressures that the mast can be subjected to when tuning are much greater that the forces of the halyards that exit at a 90 deg angle from the bottom of the mast.I am not a pro-rigger but I have spent a considerable amount of time tuning my particular rig. I would GUESS that the rig was not tuned correctly and put heavy pressure on the forward lower part of the mast. Add to this the sail pressure along with a couple of uncontrolled jibes and you MIGHT start a crack at the bottom of the mast? This is my guess and I would start by making sure that rig tuning is not an issue befor looking elsewhere. Good LuckCharlie

 

[Willy]

C27 Mast crack

I can't shed any light on why it is occuring but there are two C27's in my marina that exhibit the same kind of crack at the base of the mast. One is on a friends boat and it is fairly small. I stop-drilled the origin of the crack for him a couple of weeks ago and we'll keep an eye on it to see if it continues to grow. The other C27 has a BIG crack at the mast base and the material on either side of the crack is beginning to spread apart. Very disturbing.

 

[Willy]

C27 Mast crack

I can't shed any light on why it is occuring but there are two C27's in my marina that exhibit the same kind of crack at the base of the mast. One is on a friends boat and it is fairly small. I stop-drilled the origin of the crack for him a couple of weeks ago and we'll keep an eye on it to see if it continues to grow. The other C27 has a BIG crack at the mast base and the material on either side of the crack is beginning to spread apart. Very disturbing.

 

[R.W.Landau]

P.J.

Check out Nigel Calder book. It tells of this problem. It will either comfort of distress you.r.w.landau

 

[R.W.Landau]

P.J.

Check out Nigel Calder book. It tells of this problem. It will either comfort of distress you.r.w.landau