What do you do?

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trainmanjess

trainmanjess

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Dec 7, 2012
515
Kittiwake 23, Irwin 43 .. Indianapolis / indianatown, fl
Hello all.

I was out sailing on the lake today... my son and friend and I were having a wonderful time... then catastrophe happened. My shroud fitting broke, and the boat rocked at the same time, and my mast came down. When it struck the deck, it folded in half. While trying to recover it back up on the boat and get towed back into the docks, it broke in half from being moved around. I had several people say they were amazed I was so calm about it all. We got it all unfastened from the boat, and everything stowed below deck, and strapped the 2 parts of the mast to the deck along with my furler and took my boat home. I am tired, sore, and disappointed now.... and I am in the search for a mast for my boat.

If anyone knows of a 28 ft dwyer mast I would be interested in it.
 
justsomeguy

justsomeguy

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Feb 20, 2011
8,062
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
Re: what do you do ?

Damn, sorry to hear this. Glad everyone's technically okay.

What do you do?
Hopefully, I'd do it just the way you did. Well done.
 
finding41

finding41

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Nov 23, 2011
2,023
MacGregor 26D London Ontario Canada
Re: what do you do ?

Sorry to hear about your mast.
There are other options for masts. Maybe look at a 18' hobicat mast. (It even rotates.) Or something a bit larger you can cut to fit.
 
trainmanjess

trainmanjess

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Dec 7, 2012
515
Kittiwake 23, Irwin 43 .. Indianapolis / indianatown, fl
hello all

I have been searching Ebay this evening.... found a couple I am interested in... one is 30ft 5in long.... a little bigger than my old one, but I think will be a good match.... it is only a 3 hour drive to go pick it up, and it is under $500... I will make some calls tomorrow about it... also I found a salvage company in siminole flrorida who have some 27 ft, 29ft, and 30 ft in length.... I will talk to them on Monday or so... and see what I can find out... theirs range from $295 to $800... and they have several in stock... price varies from one manufactuerer to another....

ps : no one was hurt... my son did get angry and fly off at the handle later after we had the boat packed up and ready to leave.... his pride was hurt, I think... we had a wonderful day sailing... some good wind on the lake, sunny, and the boat was moving fast... is was during a tack, the shroud gave way, the boat rocked hard with a gust, and the mast went over and bent, then later broke in 2.... so i have 2 14ft masts now....

sincerely
Jess
 
Phyrexii

Phyrexii

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Sep 4, 2010
115
MacGregor Venture 25 Ocean Grove, Swansea MA
Re: what do you do ?

You could always set it up as a gaff rig... :)
 
centerline

centerline

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Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
Re: what do you do ?

sorry to hear the bad luck....
when you get the parts and are reassembling everything, inspect the rigging carefully, or even think about replacing all of it. on that age of boat, you can be sure its old and overdue..
 
centerline

centerline

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Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
Re: what do you do ?

check out this mast... in the gear for sale ads on this site
 
jmczzz

jmczzz

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Mar 31, 2013
538
Pearson 26 fin 4' Tacoma
sorry you had trouble, It sounds like you handled it very well however.

it would be beneficial if you could be more specific about what part actually failed.

thanks jmczzz
 
C

Catketch

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Jun 17, 2009
60
Macgregor 25 Canton
Sorry for your bad luck...at least nobody got hurt. You might look into having your mast repaired. My boat was converted by a PO into a tall rig, with a 30' tall mast, by splicing two shorter masts together just above the spreader. There appears to be an internal sleeve which both halves are screwed to with a surface weld to finish it off.

I was a bit dubious about it when I bought the boat, but I've sailed her hard for two years now with no issues. Might be worth researching before you replace the entire mast.

Dan
 

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capta

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
5,074
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
The biggest danger when a mast comes down, after the initial event, is being holed by the mast. If conditions are severe, it is suggested that one has cutters large enough to cut the rig away quickly and let it go, away from the hull.
It seems you did well and the only damage was to your rig. Good luck with the rerig.
 
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trainmanjess

trainmanjess

.
Dec 7, 2012
515
Kittiwake 23, Irwin 43 .. Indianapolis / indianatown, fl
hello all

well after surveying all the damage.... nothing but the mast was damaged, and my slider top is cracked over the cabin entrance where the mast hit it... t was a compression fitting that gave out, and let go the wire.... when this happened the boat rocked hard, and that is when the mast came down... when it landed on the deck, the upper part folded and went down into the water... the furler was unhurt, except for a bend in the roller drum housing cover...

everything is fixable except the mast... when we were manhandling t back into the boat while out on the lake, it flexed and broke in to 2 pieces.... about 6 inches on each part where it folded is mangled and compressed and distorted out of shape... dwyer has a new mast extrusson but it a little longer for $648 new.... in the spring with my tax money I will buy a new one and rig the boat for spring sailing next year... I am able to save my masthead and all my attachments to the mast, and my ropes and sail are in good working order too...

the old cables are going in the recycle bin... I will purchase all new wires for the new mast in the spring.... the new standard mast from dwyer is 30ft 6 inch... about 2 1/2 feet longer than my 28 ft mast... but I will get all new shrouds and stays for it and mount it for the start of srpng next year


again, no one was hurt, except some pride....

sincerely
Jess
 
centerline

centerline

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Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
trainmanjess said:
hello all

well after surveying all the damage.... nothing but the mast was damaged, and my slider top is cracked over the cabin entrance where the mast hit it... t was a compression fitting that gave out, and let go the wire.... when this happened the boat rocked hard, and that is when the mast came down... when it landed on the deck, the upper part folded and went down into the water... the furler was unhurt, except for a bend in the roller drum housing cover...

everything is fixable except the mast... when we were manhandling t back into the boat while out on the lake, it flexed and broke in to 2 pieces.... about 6 inches on each part where it folded is mangled and compressed and distorted out of shape... dwyer has a new mast extrusson but it a little longer for $648 new.... in the spring with my tax money I will buy a new one and rig the boat for spring sailing next year... I am able to save my masthead and all my attachments to the mast, and my ropes and sail are in good working order too...

the old cables are going in the recycle bin... I will purchase all new wires for the new mast in the spring.... the new standard mast from dwyer is 30ft 6 inch... about 2 1/2 feet longer than my 28 ft mast... but I will get all new shrouds and stays for it and mount it for the start of srpng next year


again, no one was hurt, except some pride....

sincerely
Jess
Click to expand
did you see the link to the mast in my previous post?.... it should be a perfect fit for your boat to bring it back to original...
 
capta

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
5,074
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
trainmanjess,
You might want to look into the swageless wire terminals like Sta-Lok and Norseman. They are a bit dearer initially, but can be reused AND you can do it yourself, so way cheaper than having a rigger make up cables for you when needed.
 
G

Greg Olausen

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Oct 1, 2012
25
Hunter 37 c Ventura
Trainmanjess, the important thing is how you handled the situation at hand- calmly, safely, without letting emotion cloud your judgement. You did what needed doing to secure your mast and rigging quickly and safely in a situation that could hardly be anticipated. Your son's reaction could be delayed stress reflecting how dicey things became, but by refusing to panic you got both of you through. I think you did great.
As for the mast and rigging, I have no recommendations except to never skimp on anything affecting the seaworthiness of your vessel. I believe the duty of a Captain- even of a dinghy- is to bring his passengers back to shore safely, and to ensure that his vessel is up to the task. I see you are a fresh-water sailor, but regardless of fresh or salt water, the marine environment is brutal on all materials. What the water doesn't get to, corrosion or the sun will. This is the reason marine hardware is so punishingly expensive- it has to be close to indestructible. The ocean environment will corrode material without direct contact- the sea air will rust cars parked near the beach, for example. Fresh water's not so bad, but the point is: constant maintenance, vigilance, and above all, stay calm!
-Greg Olausen, Sr. "Fat Tuesday", Ventura, CA
 
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