Dave, At least the mast is not in the bilge like on my Pearson!
I have not done a mast step repair, but there may be plywood under the fiberglass cross member (partner?). If the rig tension does not change over time, your mast step is still solid. Joel 35/3 Annapolis On Thu, Oct 1, 2015 at 12:00 PM, Dave Syer via CnC-List < cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > Hi All, > > So I checked the various posts and photos available, and chatted with one > lister, but I have yet to see a really clear description of outright > failure of the mast step area, other than repeat references to the 33ii > collapsing mast step syndrome, and the assertion that the construction is > inadequate. So, I took my (unfailed) boat apart, 'cuz, well, that's what I > do... > > The mast sits in a rectangular cast-alloy base, that is longer and wider > than the mast itself. This allows mostly for shimming fore and aft to > adjust mast rake. > The alloy base sits on the 'glass liner, which sits on a piece of > 3/4"plywood, which sits on a pile of putty,(bog) which sits on a built up > section of glass where one of the keel bolts penetrates and on a fabricated > fiberglass cross-member spans the bilge, athwartships. This cross-member > (aka "floor timber") is a hollow fiberglass beam which is semi-elliptical > in section. (like an inverted trough.) It is part of the "spider" or > whatever they called it, which stiffens the hull. > > The mast is still stepped, so I can't yet go further, but for now I can > see three areas of potential failure: > > 1: The wood can deteriorate allowing the mast to settle by its thickness, > 2: the putty could fracture crumble, move, fail, - ditto, > 3: worst of all, the cross-member could conceivably collapse, allowing the > mast to settle by some portion of its height. This would not be good.... > > If my mast step has settled, it's not by much. To me, the wood and putty > part is kind of cheesy, and I'll re-do that anyway because it bugs me and > I think wood in a wet place is bad news. The crossmember looks really > strong, and while I have this apart I could get clever and reinforce it, > but it may be totally unnecessary. > > Has anyone actually observed the mode of this particular failure? Can > anyone confirm that this crossmember has been a failure point in normal use > and has contributed to this purported flaw in the boat? > > Thanks! Dave > > BTW, I will document and post this work for the benefit of future > generations. > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Email address: > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the > bottom of page at: > http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com > > > -- Joel 301 541 8551
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