David Jenkins
New Member
I may need to purchase a mast step kit but first I want to try to make repairs to my mast step without buying the kit.
My first task is to cut at least one 5.5" inspection port. I want to make sure that the hole(s) I am about to cut will be either completely inside the area that the repair kit would cover or completely outside of that area.
I cannot find dimensions of the deck piece that comes with the various repair kits. Does anyone know those dimensions?
By the way, there are three problems with the mast step on this newly-acquired 1973 Laser: water leaks out of the mast step as fast as I can pour water into it; the top of the tube (where it meets the deck) is not perfectly round; and the mast step is only nine inches deep, not 14 inches as I expected.
I may be able to solve the first two problems without ordering a repair kit. But I am not sure that I can solve the last problem without ordering a new tube (and I guess that means ordering and using everything that comes with a mast step repair kit). Right?
When I shine a light into the mast step I see what appears to be a thick disk at the bottom (i.e., there is a 1/16" space between the "disk" and the cylindrical walls of the tube).
I have drilled an inch or so into this "disk" and it is definitely resin, not wood or metal. My daughter's hand is small enough to reach down to the bottom of the tube but she cannot make the "disk" move in any direction.
Here is my theory: years ago someone poured about three cups of resin into the tube to stop a leak. The repairman may not have cleaned the tube with acetone or anything else prior to pouring in the resin. Over time the turning forces of the mast caused the resin to crack where it met the tube.
Here is my hope: since the resin "disk" is cracked on the sides maybe it has cracked on the bottom as well. In that case there might be a way to get it out of there.
One more piece of information: both the deck around the mast step and the hull area immediately below the mast step have been repaired by someone in the past. However, there are no inspections ports in the deck. My guess is that there was a severe mast step failure in the past and the repair was made by opening up both the hull and the deck. It is unfortunate that the repairman did not use (and leave in) inspection ports.
Thank you in advance for any advice that you may have for me.
My first task is to cut at least one 5.5" inspection port. I want to make sure that the hole(s) I am about to cut will be either completely inside the area that the repair kit would cover or completely outside of that area.
I cannot find dimensions of the deck piece that comes with the various repair kits. Does anyone know those dimensions?
By the way, there are three problems with the mast step on this newly-acquired 1973 Laser: water leaks out of the mast step as fast as I can pour water into it; the top of the tube (where it meets the deck) is not perfectly round; and the mast step is only nine inches deep, not 14 inches as I expected.
I may be able to solve the first two problems without ordering a repair kit. But I am not sure that I can solve the last problem without ordering a new tube (and I guess that means ordering and using everything that comes with a mast step repair kit). Right?
When I shine a light into the mast step I see what appears to be a thick disk at the bottom (i.e., there is a 1/16" space between the "disk" and the cylindrical walls of the tube).
I have drilled an inch or so into this "disk" and it is definitely resin, not wood or metal. My daughter's hand is small enough to reach down to the bottom of the tube but she cannot make the "disk" move in any direction.
Here is my theory: years ago someone poured about three cups of resin into the tube to stop a leak. The repairman may not have cleaned the tube with acetone or anything else prior to pouring in the resin. Over time the turning forces of the mast caused the resin to crack where it met the tube.
Here is my hope: since the resin "disk" is cracked on the sides maybe it has cracked on the bottom as well. In that case there might be a way to get it out of there.
One more piece of information: both the deck around the mast step and the hull area immediately below the mast step have been repaired by someone in the past. However, there are no inspections ports in the deck. My guess is that there was a severe mast step failure in the past and the repair was made by opening up both the hull and the deck. It is unfortunate that the repairman did not use (and leave in) inspection ports.
Thank you in advance for any advice that you may have for me.