Widgeon repair - toppled mast

[tekphnx]

Hi everyone, I'm a new Oday owner and new to the forums. Also a novice sailor - this is the first boat I've actually owned. I was given a Widgeon that needed a lot of work for free about a month ago, and spent a lot of time cleaning her up and getting her ready for the water. Last weekend, I went out on a local pond and found her to be a wonderful little boat, until a clevis pin popped out, followed a few seconds later by an accidental gybe. I've posted a bunch of pictures of the damage that resulted from the mast toppling:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28852603@N06/

I'm wondering what the best way to go about repairing this would be. I've never worked with fiberglass before, though I know a couple of local people who have been offering advice on the subject. I think I'd like to try the repair myself, but I could use all the advice I can get before I try anything! So hello, and thank you all for your time.

 

[ruidh]

That's a lot of damage

That's a lot of damage, but was all that caused by a pin popping out? It looks like the mast step pulled completely out of the stringer it was mounted on. How is the wood down there? Is it soft and wet?

If you have rotted wood, you need to deal with that first. You'll need to drill some holes around the stringer and get the water out. The real repair would be to remove and replace it is that's possible. If it's not pervasive or the member is structurally tied into other pieces, you might try something like the Dot Doctor series of products.

For the fiberglass, I'd recommend a book like Don Casey's Fiberglass Sailboat Deck and Hull Repair and read it from cover to cover before even planning your repair. The West System also has a short booklet on fiberglass repairs. Between the two of them you can get an idea of the kind of work needed for this repair. Start with the less visible one. Your first few pours are likely to be sloppy ones.

 

[tekphnx]

Yep, actually..

Well, it was caused by a pin popping out, yeah, and an accidental gybe. Those are killer! I'm not sure which wood you're referring to - there isn't any wood involved in what supports the base of the mast. There is some plywood back behind and the bottom is a bit soft, but doesn't look too bad to me.

I'm ordering the book you recommended and will do as you suggest - reading the entire thing before getting started. I've had some other life priorities pop up so repairing my boat is kind of on the backburner until I take care that anyway. I'll check in if I get stuck anywhere, thanks!

 

[ruidh]

A good place to start

It actually looks like a good repair to do for your first fiberglass job. I looked ay your pictures again. I couldn't tell at first if that was all fiberglass or fiberglass over a wood stiffener.

Read the book. Then you'll want to go in there with a grinder and take off some of the surface to expose clean, fresh glass. Drill out those screw holes. Then you're going to fill the holes from the old screws and build up the piece again with layers of fiberglass cloth pouring resin in between each layer.

The tear on the top of the boat is the trickier one because you want to keep that looking nice. I might try to repair it from underneath if that's accessible. If you can flip the boat over so you're working on a floor instead of a ceiling, that would help. Again, you'll grind a bit to expose the fiberglass and put some layers of glass cloth and resin down to reinforce the area. Then some light sanding or grinding followed by some resin to make a smooth surface on the top and cover with gelcoat. Believe them when they say that gelcoat is like paint. You can't fill with it. The surface you apply it to should be smooth.