Mast Step on 1980 Laser??

L

Laser76489

Member
Good Morning all

I have a 1980 Laser with very little sailing time on it that I aquired last summer. The boat until now has had no inspection ports installed. I fear that even though the boat is and appears to always have been dry that the bottom of the mast step will give way. I have two other lasers and have had to do repairs to the mast step. These are long and time consuming, if possible I would like to avoid the hassel this time. One might even say that I am beginning to see a pattern forming!!

I just this am put an inspection port by the CB housing so I could bolt in the hiking strap and at the same time I took a picture of the mast step.

To me looks alright...but then consider my track record. If some of you could take the time to have a look at the attached pic and give your opinion I would much appreciate it.


Thanks in Advance
 

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Hi,

That looks good, no real signs of water damage, or things growing inside. Around 1978, they changed to this assembly method, with chopped glass lay-up vs. the earlier method of laying glass mats over the block. This is much more waterproof.

Other checks would be:

Does it hold water overnight.

Flip boat, and pound on the bottom, right on top of the step with the heel of your hand, and listen for the foam to fall out. (I had an '82 fail this step.) If you cut a port closer to the mast, then I'd whack lightly right on the foam.

Measure down into the tube. 14" is a good depth. Any deeper, and you should fill the bottom of the tube with WEST, after cleaning, etc. Do not overfill, just fill back to 14". then glue in a SS disk. (I had a '78 that someone filled to 12.25", geez)

Al Russell 182797
 
It appears to be in good condition, however to check that it's waterproof you should fill it with water. If any leaks out, post back with how fast it leaks and I can give you some solutions. If any leaks, be sure to take note of where if possilbe.

It looks good, certainly better than mine on my '74, and I've had no problems.
 
Ok ...thanks for the posts ...no water leaks out after 24 hrs... The measurment from the bottom of the tube to the deck level is 14 1/8 in without a metal disk installed...I will install a disk ASAP.

Looks like I shoud be ok for the time being.

Thanks again for the help
 
Your going to need an inspection port if you don't have one already. Once this is installed, take a flashlight and try to find where the water is leaking from by looking in the inspection port (your also going to need a flashlight), or you can feel around for it. Once you find where it's coming from, you need to know how big the hole/crack is. If it's a small hole, which it likely is due to the time it takes to drain, you should be able to get away wih mixing some fibreglass resin and simply applying it to the mast step with a little bit of glass.

Sorry but I have to go to class now, let me know how things work out in regards to the hole and I can give you a more detailed fix :).

Good luck,
David
 
"I have leak in mast step that takes about 15 minutes to drain any ideas David?"

Hi,

There is lots of info on here, if you search on "mast step". But, the best advice would be to do something soon. Cut a port, take pics, then supply more details, if you want specific advice.

Year of boat? Does it drain completely out? depth of step? Do you live where it freezes in the Winter? Weight of boat? Etc. Also, it has to dry completely before you epoxy anything, such as a drop light on the inside of the hull for a couple of weeks.

Al Russell 182797
 
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