duckjibe
New Member
Hi,
My laser is a 2006 and not too heavily used. I inspected the mast step recently and it was in fine shape. Last week we went to Hatteras Island and we sailed the laser 3 times at Canadian Hole on the sound side. We had a great time, but the wind was pretty brisk, maybe 15-20 MPH. With that wind it wall all I could manage to get the mast in to the step and I did not think to pay attention to what might be sticking to the mast. I believe I probably inserted the mast with sand and small rocks which resulted in about 1/2 " of damage at the bottom of the mast step in an arc about 90 centered aft. The attached picture (if it worked?) shows the damage sort of. Hard to get a decent picture. It does not appear to be leaking - I've had water in it for over an hour and see no change. So, that's good news, but this is damage that I'd rather not let sit.
Can I use west systems and a paddle to apply some epoxy with filler down there, then sand with a dowel with sand paper glued to it? If so, do I also need to do a gel coat or can repairing the mechanical damage with epoxy and filler be all I need? How do I prep the surface of such a hard to reach place?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Duckjibe
My laser is a 2006 and not too heavily used. I inspected the mast step recently and it was in fine shape. Last week we went to Hatteras Island and we sailed the laser 3 times at Canadian Hole on the sound side. We had a great time, but the wind was pretty brisk, maybe 15-20 MPH. With that wind it wall all I could manage to get the mast in to the step and I did not think to pay attention to what might be sticking to the mast. I believe I probably inserted the mast with sand and small rocks which resulted in about 1/2 " of damage at the bottom of the mast step in an arc about 90 centered aft. The attached picture (if it worked?) shows the damage sort of. Hard to get a decent picture. It does not appear to be leaking - I've had water in it for over an hour and see no change. So, that's good news, but this is damage that I'd rather not let sit.
Can I use west systems and a paddle to apply some epoxy with filler down there, then sand with a dowel with sand paper glued to it? If so, do I also need to do a gel coat or can repairing the mechanical damage with epoxy and filler be all I need? How do I prep the surface of such a hard to reach place?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Duckjibe