Mast step chipped - help?

DoctorCAD

New Member
Hello all,

I am new to Sunfish ownership and eager to get her on the water but I'm concerned about the mast step. Below is a pic of my mast step/tube/hole that has some large chips in the gelcoat. The mast step holds water and there are no visible cracks on the deck surrounding the tube. Any recommendations from those of you who have experienced this problem(or similar problems) and fixed it are greatly appreciated.


mast step.jpg
 
Two thoughts: if it is holding water just go sailing! Second, if you want to try a fix, get some Marine Tex and a long stick. Gob in enough Marine Tex to cover the spots, but not too thick or the mast won’t go in. MT is pretty thick so it won’t sag much but you will need to keep an eye on it.
 
Thanks Beldar! If I use Marine Tex, do you think there is any merit to covering it with wax paper or mylar to squish it against the fiberglass and then peel wax paper or mylar after it cures? It's been a very long time (20+ years) since I've done any work with fiberglass or epoxy.
 
Painter plastic drop works aw well.

Another option is getting a caulk cartridge tube of TotalBoat THIXO or Pettit Flexpoxy for that repair. WestMarine sells the Pettit and Jamestown Distributors sells both.

Whatever you get, check the daggerboard trunk also, especially the fore and aft curved section. We use a paint stick to smooth down the mast step repair, and a paint stick spilt lengthwise for the daggerboard. Watch the video for a special tip :)

If you order from JD, call them and ask for extra mixing tips. You can also squeeze out the 2 part mix without the tip then mix by hand. What I like about the cartridges is I always get the right amount of resin and hardener, it is already thickedned, and it stays ready for use if you put the cap back on. Lately I have just left the mixing tip on and store it that way, when it is time to use it again I take the old tip off and put on a new one, the resin and hardener are fresh and ready to go. Oh, and this gives you an excuse to buy a High Thrust caulk gun, 18:1 ratio vs the cheapo *:1 guns from HD/Lowes.

IMG_9585.jpeg


 
Thanks for the good advice. Just a followup so that others can benefit from my experience. I got creative and made some "inside clamps" out of cut 2.5" PVC pipe to press against the mylar in hopes of getting a smooth surface from the epoxy. The 2.5" PVC is just slightly larger than the mast step diameter so I cut a chunk out of the ring so I could compress it and insert it into the mast step. I drilled holes and tied strings so I could pull the PVC clamps out of the mast step when done. (see below).

IMG_20190629_191531408.jpg


I rolled the mylar into a tube, inserted it into the mast step, applied epoxy between the mylar and the mast step, and then placed the PVC clamps inside the mylar tube.
IMG_20190629_190905445.jpg


I thought this was quite a brilliant solution but the top of the mast step is slightly smaller in diameter and the clamps didn't press as firmly against the inside of the mast step as I thought. There are a few spots where the mylar contacted the epoxy (see image below). While I didn't get the smooth epoxy surface from the mylar that I had hoped, the good news is that the epoxy filled the chipped voids and I still have decent clearance between the mast and the mast step to allow easy insertion/extraction of the mast.

In hindsight, I'd say it might have been better to do one section/sector of the mast step at a time and let gravity do its job of holding the epoxy against the chipped mast step areas. I also should have waited a little longer before applying to allow the epoxy to thicken a little.
I took the sunfish out 3 times now where one day it was 18mph wind and gusty - if she was going to fly apart at the mast step, it would have been that day. So far so good.
Thanks again for the help!
IMG_20190629_195419676.jpg
 
Per your request here's a photo of her. 1980 AMF Sunfish I got on craigslist for $400. The sail is a little rough(probably replace next spring) and I'm still working on determining where or if she is taking on water. I think maybe a little so I might have to do the inspection port thing at some point to dry her out and seal her up but so far - very happy.
IMG_20190705_192746179-sm.jpg
 
Wow, great looking boat!

Check the bottom of your daggerboard trunk for the same issue you had in your mast step, fore and aft are usually where we see chips of poly resin gone. Also cracks where the trunk transitions into the keel.
 

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