Mast "hole" broken, need advise on repair!

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phyregod

New Member
Well, I purchased an old laser (81).. After paint and a new traveler block, it was a fun little boat. the first time I took it out the wind was 5-10 knots and was on and off.. Was a bit frustrating but I had fun anyway.

Well, yesterday, the wind was at 15-20 knots so I went sailing. I was having a heck of a good time when all the sudden the area around the mast broke (the fiberglass) and the mast fell over sideways. Now there is a jagged hole where the mast used to be, and the "tube" that the mast was in is MIA. At the bottom, the donut looking thing is about 1/3 missing as well.

Question is, Is this boat totalled? Is it a difficult fix?

I only paid $300 for the boat in the first place, purchased from a sailing instructor who gave it a clean bill of health (but then again, He was the salesperson also) and I dont want to put hundreds of dollars into it.. If it can be repaired for $100ish, I'll go for it.

I dont care if the repairs are "legal" or not, as I am not in any club and I do not "race".. Its just a fun toy to play with.

Suggestions for a cheap fix? does that exist?
 
I was told to post a "pic" But that is tough to get right now, as the boat is parked 20 miles away, So I drew you guys a nice picture.

damage.jpg


To explain the picture, the line around the mast step(i think thats what it is called) is there, and has epoxy looking stuff over it, I've never seen another laser in person so I dont know if that is the way they come or not. The "tube" part that the mast slides down into is completely gone. The bottom of the pic shows the "donut" thing, the dotted lines mark the places that are broken off and missing.


Another quick question is, I weigh 230lbs, am 6'4, and was hanging way out to the side when the mast holder broke. Can these little boats handle a person of my size/weight?
 
Nice drawing...If you can find the mast tube, you can effect a repair with some fiberglass work, & sanding & some painting to give it one color again.. They make repair 'kits' but they were $300 when I bought one 15 years ago...no idea what they are now....

This is a common failure point if preventative maintenance isn't done. I am sure some others that have done the repair without the kit will be able to help you a little more. If you only paid $300 for the boat, it may be cheaper to buy another $300 boat and then spend the weekend properly repairing/stengthening the mast step for about $15 worth of materials before it breaks. There are lots of other threads about mast steps here, do a search to start learning more.

Edit - Torrensen Marine has the kit for $322 (link below). It would be an approx 2' diameter trapezoid with a new tube attached to it..the original tube was part of the deck and bonded to the hull using the 'donut goo' when the boat was built. The twisting mast wears out the fiberglass at the bottom of the step, the goo gets old and brittle, the wooden plate the step sits on rots, and the whole thing fails. Looking at your pic...it may in fact have already been repaired once once, as that is what mine looks like..my boat is so old and soft, I had to use sheet metal screws to pull the deck up to the lip of the kit and seal it.

http://shop.torresen.com/ships_store/index.php?p=details&mfc=Laser&sku=50-71-1&frm=g
 
sastanley is right about the price of the repair kit 300.00 plus you may be able to find another hull on this site cheap so I'd check that out.
 
Here's my stab at a cheap fix (for sure it's not class legal), but it will do the job. Cheap in materials, but will take much longer to put it together on the boat then the kit above....

In effect, you have to mimic the commercially available mast step replacement kit with plywood and pvc pipe. The plywood will be for the deck portion, the pvc pipe will be the new mast tube. You'll need to put relief cuts on the underside of the plywood to allow it to conform to the deck profile. Seal the plywood with epoxy and paint, bond it to the deck with 3M 5200 and a few thru bolts as well. You'll need an inspection port as well to fix the tube to the bottom of the hull as well.

If you use a bit of imagination and creativity, you should be able to do it for well under $100

I wouldn't worry to much about getting the mast tube watertight either if you go this route - instead make a rubber gasket/boot at the deck that the mast has to go thru - similar to the top of a drysuit. You could use some old tire innertube for the material.

Size and weight wise, the boat can handle you. Just make sure your hiking strap attachments are sound.

Good luck
 
I don't think pvc is strong enough and the wood will rot like there is no tomorrow if it is always wet and saturated. I would just buy another boat for 300 and call it a day.
 
The wood can be treated with resin, and the pvc reinforced from the outside with fiberglass..

I think this is the route I'm going to take.. Try to fix it as cheaply as possible.. if I fail, I'll start looking for a new boat.
 
157800 said:
I don't think pvc is strong enough and the wood will rot like there is no tomorrow if it is always wet and saturated. I would just buy another boat for 300 and call it a day.
Click to expand...
thats why he said to seal the wood with epoxy and paint. it sounds like the boat was previously reapaired at the mast step and i would personally just find another 300$ boat if not just a hull cause you already have the rigging. my reasoning is that i would not have to go through having to swim everything in and deal with it again if it were to break again.
 
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