mast step

DK Sailor

New Member
I have a 74 laser with no problems should i put a deck plate to check the mast step even if i dont want one but its better than a messed up mast step?
 
Yup.

Cheap insurance for your 34 year old ride, especially if you like to blast around in a breeze. Kinda like checking the oil in your '74 GTO or whatever.

At least 1/2 the time, home is sorta upwind...

Al
 
No, why cut holes in a perfectly good boat. Buy a metal mast disc and put it in the bottom of the step. Other then that you are good to go..
 
I'd agree with the why cut holes in a perfectly good boat, if it were new, but it's not uncommon at all with the 70's boats for the bedding material (the "donut") to fall apart and leave you with a broken mast step and/or destroyed deck around the mast.

Like Al said, cheap insurance. - Check it, if the bedding material is solid, add a layer or two of mat/resin around out and rest easy...
 
If it's not leaking I wouldn't touch it. Pop a disc in as said earlier. Put the lower section in and push on it and see if the deck moves around the top of the mast hole. If not, it must be fine. Otherwise you could put the inspection port on the flat panel next to the board case and look forward.
 
then the chances are there has not been water in your hull and the mast step is most likely good. still it wouldn't be a bad idea to look at it
 
well actually i have a question i do get water in my hull but im 99.99% sure its not from the mast step and i dont think its the gudgeon are what could it be im thinking the self bailer
 
ive desided to put in a deck plate by the db slot but if I do find a problem with the step will I be able to reach it ?
 
ive desided to put in a deck plate by the db slot but if I do find a problem with the step will I be able to reach it ?

Don't know. Are your arms the length of a gorillas?

All kidding aside, an inspection port next to the centerboard slot is likely to get a knee punched through it. I placed my port forward some distance off the centerline.
 
I had a 76 boat that I did this with. You will NOT be able to do a decent glass job if you are trying to reach from an inspection port located by the dagger board trunk. You will need to locate it on the upper deck near the mast step. I put mine directly in front of the step about 18"-24" away from the step, but I have since learned it is best to locate the port at an angle in front of the step. Either the port or starboard side/forward quadrant at about a 45 degree angle from the step. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure....................
 
I'd put it 10-12" from the mast. This makes it easier to work one armed in the hole, sorta the distance from my elbow to my hand. If you put it astern, and offset from centerline a bit, then you can reach other fittings that may need some work, or a nut on the back.

Beside the DB trunk doesn't reach much, and bangs the knee a lot, assuming you sail downwind at max forward in the light to med stuff. I suspect Vanguard stopped putting ports in at the factory, because placement choice ywas so controversial, and not really because the might leak, etc. They were a standard part of a new boat ( on the right of the DB slot) for 6-7 years, or so.

You can do other external tests before cutting if you want. Weigh the boat. Anything over 130 lbs is water. And measure the depth of the mast pocket. Anything over 14" is wear, and over 14.25 inches is worn thru the pocket.

Do some searches on those topics for a full description.

Al Russell
 
its not to worn the the little nob thing is still there and im not all about puting the plate on the deck around there because to me its ugly and it would be hard to get to because i want one with a bag. after every sail i do a drain so no water
 
Great pics of the outside parts of the step, but it's not the outside you should be concerned with. The "doughnut" holding the inner base of the step to the bottom of the hull can dry rot over time, become loose and fall off. This is where the problem begins. I've seen folks sailing along in their boat thinking all is well in the world when SNAP! Down comes the whole rig with a big chunk of deck attached to the bottom of the mast.

The deck placed inspection port is ment solely for mast step repair/maintenance not for a gear bag. If you want to put some glass around the base of your mast you'll have to put a port up there.

If you want to take your chances that's fine too. It's your boat.
 
boat looks in good shape for a '74. Unless there are hairline cracks at the baseof the tube, it's interesting to see how little wear there is on the inside of the mast step. Either it hasn't been sailed much, or they were ladling on the gelcoat that week.
 
Thanks all,the boat was refurbished a few years before i bought it and I dont think it was used much because the bottom has like 1 scratch and the whole boat has no spider cracks Ill put more pics also does that wooden ring dryrot from water and is it fiber glassed over? thanks
 
its not to worn the the little nob thing is still there and im not all about puting the plate on the deck around there because to me its ugly and it would be hard to get to because i want one with a bag. after every sail i do a drain so no water
If you want to put a inspection port in any and you don't want to put it in the deck put it next to the centerboard trunk and you will be able to inspect the mast step from there and see if you need to make any further repairs.
 
ive sailed with it in 15 + and its been good. its just that i dont want to drill a bunch of ugly holes im going sailing sunday in 15-20 gusting 30 and ill see how it will act if its wabily or loose ill put a port in also I would like to know if the wooden ring is fiber glassed?

Thanks,
Doug
 
Put the port anywhere you like. I know one guy put a port below the waterline. Haven't seen him around much lately but he made a nice job of it.

Nice main sheet block you've got there.
 
thanks thats were ill install one on the centerline

thanks ill post picks of the step once i put the step in anound this weekend.
 
thanks thats were ill install one on the centerline

thanks ill post picks of the step once i put the step in anound this weekend.

I think that if you put it on the centerline, you cut through some kind of supportive stuff and it weakens the boat. Put it off the centerline.
 
Put the port anywhere you like. I know one guy put a port below the waterline. Haven't seen him around much lately but he made a nice job of it.


I hope you didn't take the advice of a guy who talks about putting a port below the waterline.
 
Title: Re: mast step
Quote:
Originally Posted by DK Sailor
thanks thats were ill install one on the centerline

thanks ill post picks of the step once i put the step in anound this weekend.

I think that if you put it on the centerline, you cut through some kind of supportive stuff and it weakens the boat. Put it off the centerline.
__________________
Merrily

Merrily is right. VT Gent has also posted several times with great knowledge of the Laser construction.

On one of my boats ( '75 #29427) there is a support on the centerline forward of the centerboard trunk. The attached photo although blurry, shows this. I wouldn't cut on centerline. From experience opening several old boats, don't think for a minute that you will see a "wobbly" mast while sailing. It will be ok and then all of a sudden you will have a broken deck with a non-legal mast rake :(. The bonding putty that Laser used degrades with time and the wet-dry cycle that goes on inside the boat. I was able to remove the putty "donut" with my fingers when I opened an old boat to "check it out".

Yes, put a port. Put it off center and slightly behind the step. If you are worried about leaks, seal the port closed with silicone after you are sure that your step is O.K.

Bill
 

Attachments

  • yellow laser construction 009.jpg
    yellow laser construction 009.jpg
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Now here’s a beauty. Not glassed to the hull very well. If at all. (Someone must have already done that other bloke's one already.)



http://members.acadia.net/catamount/Laser/rottenstep.jpg
rottenstep.jpg





doesn't look to be any centreline reinforcements in this boat or they couldn’t do this:


http://members.acadia.net/catamount/Laser/flange.jpg
flange.jpg




but then this is quite an old boat. you can get the whole story here:

http://members.acadia.net/catamount/Laser/

they use a stock Laser part, which is pretty ugly.
 

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