Ugly Mast Tube Cracks

Breeze Bender

Breeze Bender
Same boat, other big repair. I watched the ‘autopsy’ posted by Alan Glos of a Sunfish with similar damage. I’m hoping this one can be revived! I’ve installed a port in the stern, since boat is about 50 lbs overweight and rudder upgrade is planned. Fan is running. I hope one port with deck drain open will provide enough airflow. Do you think a second port behind coaming is necessary to access back side of mast step? Or can I clean up cracks and repair from the top of the deck? Thanks again, all!
 

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If the fan is a small one, consider inserting a 3-inch PCV pipe (or a fair-size hose) deep into the hull (at any angle), and buy a PVC adapter to fit the fan. The gap thus created will be more efficient than the drain plug opening.

Seeing your photo enlarged (using the icon with the arrow) that mast step took a very big hit, as the gelcoat is cracked several inches away. :eek: I suspect there is more "deep work" with this repair than a look at photographs would suggest. :( Does the mast step hold water?

I can't find it right now, but recently I've suggested cutting through the hull's bottom. Also, cutting the mast step in half, in order to sleeve and epoxy its outer surface—plus, laying-up fiberglass against the deck's underside through that access).

Having the mast step in your hands will make a permanent repair easier and make leaking there nearly impossible.

Older Sunfish develop a very flexible bottom, and this repair will help to resist that flexing. I'd even add strips of fiberglass roving while access is this easy—but save such repairs for the off-season. ;)

.
 
Great response, thank you. Yes, first thing I did when I got it home was wash the filth off this Fish. Amazingly, the mast step held water. I couldn’t believe it. But it is a serious hit. When you say I get nervous!
Great tip on the PVC and adapter for my fan. I will look for that at HD today.
I’ll look for your previous reply about cutting through the bottom. Cutting mast step in half? Eek!
 
You need to do some exploration there. Does mast step hold water? Does the mst step feel solid? If so then it is most likely structurally intact. It looks to me like there was a previous repair there, based on the different color square of gelcoat/paint. Most likely they went a little thick on the fairing or gelcoat when they put it back together and over time the coating cracked.

What I would do is start probing or sanding lightly and slowly expose what is underneath. Is it just a surface crack in gelcoat or fairing compound that was too thick, bondo shrinkage maybe?

Q: Do you think a second port behind coaming is necessary to access back side of mast step?
A: Not to access the mast step, you can't really reach it from there, certainly not the front of the step. For a repair like that to the top of the tube my vintage Alcort buddy Howie would go in from the top, right next to the mast step, do the repair, then repair the access hole and gelcoat it back to match. Keep in mind he was working on boats only a few years old with shiny new gelcoat everywhere. Once he got to older boats and couldn't get a good gelcoat match, he'd draw out a Sunfish logo and gelcoat it an entirely different color, kind of a Badge of Honor.

Q: Or can I clean up cracks and repair from the top of the deck?
A: I think there is a good chance that you can just clean it up a bit, refair the deck, maybe paint target rings around the mast, something fun.

Thanks again, all!
You're welcome.

Kent and Skipper
 
Oh, I'm feeling much more hopeful now! Another fabulous reply. Yes, the mast step holds water. Yes, good eye, it appears a previous owner attempted something, but only evidenced by the lighter paint color around the mast area. If a patch was cut in the deck they did an incredible job of fairing. That lighter painted area leaves me guessing.
Yes, the mast step feels solid internally. There are chips in the tube, I can use the Flexpoxy there. The bigger cracks toward the top and on the deck I will pick away at to see what I can discover. It is pouring rain today, but this boat has prime real estate in the garage right now since I don't like to run the fan outside in the rain. I'll chip away and report back with my findings!
 
The lighter painted area is most likely a coating repair that has faded more than the original gelcoat.

You'll have her back out at sea in no time, does she have a name?

Cheers
Kent and Skipper
PS, here is why one needs to be careful storing a boat upside down on a trailer, the wind picked it up and dropped it on the trailer roller. A little fiberglass, fairing compound, sandpaper and paint go along way. She came out of paint with a Pettit EZPoxy Medium Blue deck.

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Looks like the wind got under the Sunfish more than once...:confused:

:oops: Let's see...You pulled the damaged flap up, bonded short pieces of stir-sticks (or fiberglass battens) to the good (lower) deck, brushed resin on fiberglass mat, lowered the flap, secured with screws, allowed to set, filled with MarineTex (?), sanded and painted?

How'd I do? :)

>
 
Not even close...well, kind of close. I put wax paper over the deck and laid out a big backer patch that conformed to the shape of the hull. Once it dried I cut a hole in the middle if it, which was too small, so then I cut a hand sized hole into it. Wet it all out with thickened epoxy, put in some strings, inserted it in through the flap, pulled it tight and ran some screws through the hull into the backer patch while it dried. The allowed to set, filled with West System/Collodial Silica, THEN MarineTexed, sanded and painted.

FMI: ROSEBUD deck repair

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Cheers
Kent and Skipper
 

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