C26 Dent in Mast

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petrasoleil
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C26 Dent in Mast

Post by petrasoleil »

Our new-to-us C26 has a dent on one of the sides where the spreader attaches to the mast. Some poking around on the internet seems to offer up solutions everywhere from "repairing with a sleeve" to "scrap it". Any other thoughts from this community?

Photos of each side at the spreader:
http://s538.photobucket.com/user/mjappl ... t=3&page=1
Emily
Sayonara - '77 C26
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EmergencyExit
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Post by EmergencyExit »

From the pics it looks like compression damage from the spreader bolt being pulled too tight. If you pull the pin and remove the arms you'll see a bolt head on one side and the nut on the other. But likely there's no bushing/sleeve in between to keep that from happening.

Hard to tell from pics how much deflection there is, but doesn't appear too bad, and there's no sharp crease line that could let the mast fold, just an indentation.
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C22Bob
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Post by C22Bob »

As EmergencyExit says, appears to be missing an inner spacer. I wouldn't put much tension on those now, and even would say don't sail as is. You should remove both spreaders. From the one good side you may be able to insert a steel drift pin or something similarly hard and bang out the dent on the bad side. Once done, get yourself a heavy duty steel spacer and cut to length to fit inside the mast. Next, the tricky part, attach the spacer (glue or duck tape, etc) to the end of a wooden pole. Measure appx where the mast spreader hole is from an open end of the mast. Let's say 20ft. Mark 20ft on your wooden pole so you'll know you're close when inserting the pole in the mast. Insert the pole into the mast and start looking for it through the spreader holes when you get there. With a little practice you'll be able to position the spacer right at the hole. Push your new 6 inch SS bolt into it and doing so will straighten out the spacer where you'll see it opposite side. Takes a little practice but I think you get the idea. When done, you'll be able to heavy torque those spreader bars on and know your mast isn't going anywhere!
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petrasoleil
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Post by petrasoleil »

Thank you for the replies and the detailed solution to try. We'll give it a go - I definitely don't want our mast going anywhere!
Emily
Sayonara - '77 C26
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petrasoleil
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Location: Northern CA

Post by petrasoleil »

Hi! I have another mast- related question. I've uploaded a couple more photos to the link above. After reading the original manual and looking at other mast-stepping photos, I'm curious if our base is put on backwards? From the looks of how ours is set up, it appears that you would roll the mast forward along the bow roller, place the mast into the base, and tilt it up from the bow to vertical. There's a winch that's been installed to aid in stepping it, which is mounted at the back of the boat. Am I crazy, or is this opposite of how other boats are set up to step the mast? Thanks everyone!
Emily
Sayonara - '77 C26
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petrasoleil
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Location: Northern CA

Post by petrasoleil »

Yet another update. We tinkered around with the mast base and after looking at other photos on this forum, and the looking at the suspect weld on the neck (?) of the metal part of the mast step, we concluded that some aftermarket work was done. An attempt to step the mast led to a little sideways swaying which put extra pressure on that piece and snapped it off at the weld. Better now than out On the water, I suppose. My question for the forum is about the base of the actual mast. Do I now have a (albeit needed to be cleaned up) normal mast step, if we flip it around to face the stern? What was the previous owner thinking by flipping it to face the bow and welding on an extended "hook"? Should I just give in and get a whole new part? Photos are in the link from the original post.
Thanks! We're learning a lot!
Emily
Sayonara - '77 C26
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