Best of '79
New Member
oopsy
I shoulda cranked the sail controls on...in 28 knots of wind.I'll be careful next time...
- Thread starter Best of '79
- Start date
oopsy
I shoulda cranked the sail controls on...in 28 knots of wind.
G
Goonie
Guest
It might not be completely your fault. How old is the boat? Mast steps deteriorate over time. It can be fixed. Where are you?
Best of '79
New Member
Its already been fixed, but it scared the crap outta me.
49208
Tentmaker
I think he's saying he should have put the cunningham on, either one of two thinks happened - the doughnut at the base of the tube broke loose while sailing, or during a capsize the mast slipped out because the cunningham wasn't on...
You can't do that type of damage by cranking on the controls, even with the new ones - at most you might pull the block deck plate out.......
You can't do that type of damage by cranking on the controls, even with the new ones - at most you might pull the block deck plate out.......
Best of '79
New Member
By cranking on the sail controls it would've dumped some air out of them, you don't want the sail to have a large amount of draft while over-powered. It didn't happen after death rolling, or capsizing, the mast step randomly broke from the deck.
49208
Tentmaker
cranking on cunningham and/or outhaul wouldn't have prevented that - did you find all the pieces of the doughnut at the base of the tube ? The doughnut breaking apart and allowing the tube to move arond is the normal cause.
49208
Tentmaker
Yup, doughnut - it's the resin/filler crap that is used to bond the mast tube to the plywood base. Does it's job until over time it cracks and breaks away, then the tube starts to move around in the plywood base, water rots the base and then the result is what you see in the beginning of this thread
For a close up of the doughnut, following thru the following web pages
Another broken deck, with a picture of the doughnut
For a close up of the doughnut, following thru the following web pages
Another broken deck, with a picture of the doughnut
OH!! I get it now....yeah I recently had to repair my mast step (actually it was just a week ago.) It was leaking so we simply put in an inspection port in front of it and glassed all around the tube, the top and around the already fiberglassed goughnut as well. But I did notice one thing... Around the doughnut, at the sharp edges of the outer part, the glass seemed to not completely cover these corners...Does this mean that water is and can be rotting the goughnut?? I'll try and get some pictures in.
49208
Tentmaker
Mac, I think what you are talking about is the plywood base - if you look closely at the pics on the web pages I linked to, you'll see the plywood base, which is bonded to the hull and has an much larger hole cutout in the center of it for the mast tube. The doughnut is just resin and filler that is then put around the large hole cutout in the plywood base. It's purpose is to "lock" the tube in place once the deck is bonded to the hull. If the doughnut is not there, the bottom of the mast tube is free to move around in the larger cutoout of the plywood base, which as we see leads to the destruction of the tube and the deck.
The doughnut, since it is just resin and filler, doesn't "rot" as we think of wood rotting. It does become brittle over time and crack, causing chunks of it to loose their bond between the tube and the plywood base.
The plywood base can and does rot, if you suspect yours may be rotting, drill a couple of 3/16 holes in the area you think is rotting and check the wood that the drill bit pulls out - wet or rotten plywood is easy to spot, it will be come out as larger pieces on the drill bit (the bit actually tears the wood fibers as opposed to cutting and turning to dust) dark in color and soft/spongy to the feel. If that's what you find, you need to determine if you can get by with a product like Git-Rot or West Marine Epoxy or if you have to rip out the whole plywood base and start over.....
The doughnut, since it is just resin and filler, doesn't "rot" as we think of wood rotting. It does become brittle over time and crack, causing chunks of it to loose their bond between the tube and the plywood base.
The plywood base can and does rot, if you suspect yours may be rotting, drill a couple of 3/16 holes in the area you think is rotting and check the wood that the drill bit pulls out - wet or rotten plywood is easy to spot, it will be come out as larger pieces on the drill bit (the bit actually tears the wood fibers as opposed to cutting and turning to dust) dark in color and soft/spongy to the feel. If that's what you find, you need to determine if you can get by with a product like Git-Rot or West Marine Epoxy or if you have to rip out the whole plywood base and start over.....