Mast Step Orientation

montgwh

New Member
I bought a 1986 Capri 14.2 last week and have been working on fixing it up. I installed the mast step today without really thinking much about it. Now as I look more closely at the diagrams in the C14 Handbook and the owners manual I think I have installed it backwards. That is, the slanted part of the step is facing forward instead of aft as the diagrams show. I need to know if I did put it on backwards and does it really make a difference:confused:. 5200 is a real pain to undo. This website has been great in helping me figure out how to fix up and rig my first sailboat. Hopefully I didn't screw this up too bad, thanks in advance for the advice.
 
I think that it's backwards and I am not sure whether in makes all that much of a difference unless you are racing (seems to me that the only difference would be that the mast is a few mm behind where it otherwise would have been).
 
Thanks for the reply. I think your right that a difference of a few mm won't change the way it sails. There seems to be plenty of adjustment in the standing rigging to tune the mast as suggested in the handbook. I'm having new standing rigging made soon, so could it become a problem if the new isn't as stretched out as the old? Guess I could just fix the step then. Anyone else have any ideas? Thanks!!
 
Wood screws would be enough to hold the mast step in place. You want the step to come off in the event of a shroud failure. It will keep the boat from being damaged and maybe the mast step from being bent. I speak from personal knowledge.
 
Well that is the problem I'm running into now. The previous owner forgot to put a split ring or cotter pin in one of the pins on the standing rigging. Somehow he got it launched and the sails up before it all came down. It ripped the screws out of the deck and mangled the bracket. Now there is nothing for a wood screw to bight too, so I am through bolting it and used the 5200 for waterproofing. I'm going to have rigging made that is a little stronger so hopefully it won't come down again and ripe my deck off. Of course my line of thought could be totally wrong, this is my first sailboat and I've owned it for 8 days. If you guys think I'm on the wrong path, is there a way to repair the deck to accept stranded screws, instead of bolting it? Thanks for all the advice and replies.
 
Same thing happenned to me. First time my old shrouds snapped, second time I lost a ring and a cotter pin came out.

My suggestion is that you want the mast step to come away easy. The shrouds hold the mast in place and bear the brunt of the lateral forces. The step simply holds the vertical force, so it really does not have to be held together all that tightly.

Mine is held in place by 4 stainless #10 bolts with nuts and a few washers on the underside just to Keep them from pulling through the deck. I also have a small square (about 6"x 6") of scrap wood about 1/8 thick under the deck to hold it all in place.

The second time the rigging came down, the bolts broke about 2 seconds after I lost the shroud, which is exactly what I wanted them to do. I had more bolts in the tool kit, so i pulled it up on the shore and was back in action within an hour.
 

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