Mast step cracks in base and tube repair question

Pat75

Member
I'd like some advice on what I should do about the cracks in my mast step. The mast step has a slow leak into the hull.

On a past thread:
http://sailingforums.com/threads/mast-tube.14654/#post-77291
baldessariclan talks about fixing cracks in the mast tube by painting some penetrating epoxy onto the cracks inside the tube while using a vacuum cleaner to suck the air out of boat to possibly pull the epoxy all the way through the crack for a better repair. I think I would also add some "chopped" fiberglass to the epoxy mix to fortify it. (Wayne mentions this on another thread.) This inside tube fix is what I'd like to try to get away with doing.

However, I'm not sure if the crack is too big and if I'll have to put in another inspection port and wrap the outside of the tube with reinforcing fiberglass.

I'd like to stop the leak permenantly...
The crack runs down the lower right side from about mid tube and then goes into the base seat. Here are the best pictures of the crack(s) I could get.

Thanks for any help. I would be lost (sunk) if it weren't for this forum and all the great people in it - Thanks!

P9190015_zpsd834e66e.jpg


P9190009_zpsa401db33.jpg
 
I like that suggested repair: it's simple. ;)

West™ epoxy makes some thickening agents like tiny "beads" to add to the mix. That may be the solution.:)
 
Do you think brushing some epoxy in will hold? or will the tube have a catastrophic failure and break in half while I'm sailing?

I don't really understand fiberglass or why it cracks like this, if the crack is all the way through, if it's getting ready to split etc.
 
The pictures are not showing up for me, but given that one of the most critical parts of the boat is damaged, and one that comes under a LOT of stress, I don't know why one would not err on the side of caution and wrap the outside of the tube with several layers of glass. Stopping the leak is important, and being sure your mast tube does not give way is even more important. If the tube breaks, you are going to have a big repair on your hands.
 
How about using a rod or broom handle to see if anything down there flexes? If it does, you probably need reinforcing repair. If it's solid, a penetrating epoxy setting up in a time a bit slower than the leak rate (temperature will change setup time) would probably work.
 
In the second photograph, is the crack what I'm seeing at about 9 o'clock to 1 o'clock? :oops: A crack that is circumferential? Could the mast have been pried while partially removed? :(

Testing the leak with water would have the leak stop after only a minimal amount of water leaked into the hull. That said, the step could still be strong enough with a penetrating epoxy repair.
 
Pat 75, there are three things that I think would be worth doing to reinforce your mast step:
1) Fill the gap in the bottom of the mast step with resin and chopped cloth so the bottom of the step is flat and doesn't have that divot in the bottom. I think it is part of the design in some model years, but it looks like trouble to me.
2) Reinforce the bottom of the mast step from the inside out with some fiberglass at the bottom that reaches up the sides some. I am thinking of either an oversized circle with some overlap going up the tube or even a "star" shape so the overlap doesn't get folded over itself on the edges of the mast tube. This would have to be dropped down to the bottom and gently maneuvered into place with your broomstick or BBQ tongs (it has worked for me).
3) Add a several strips of fiberglass cloth & resin up and down the mast tube to cover up the crack. Squeeze it into place on the wall of the tube as best you can to get most of the resin out and to get the repair to bond to the wall.

Even with all of that said, wrapping the step via a port and reinforcing the bond to the bottom of the boat as Beldar noted is a wise and prudent route. I should know since I had a catastrophic failure of my mast step a few weeks ago which busted the step off of the bottom of the hull and put a two foot tear down the middle of my deck. I've got a much bigger project now versus some glass laid down to reinforce an intact mast step. I'll post some photos in a new thread in a few weeks once I haul my sunfish down from my cottage to the boat infirmary in my garage.
 
Thanks all for the input/info. I suctioned the hull with a shop vac while applying west system resin and now the leak appears to have subsided. I used a broomstick to see if there was any "give" to the walls of the maststep, before I used the resin, and everything seemed solid. So, I'll see if I can finish the season with that repair and then add another port for the full repair over the winter.

(I am unable to tell if the reverse pressure from the shop-vac had any effect. Perhaps I'll be able to see something when I put the port in.)
 

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