mast base cracked - need how to repair help
Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 2:03 pm
In working over the C22 I bought last fall and have not yet sailed I found a crack in the fiberglass around the mast base/step. Crack runs from the starboard aft corner where the base meets the cabin roof, vertically to the top corner of the step, then horizontally forward just under the metal "hook" toward the top front starboard corner, and then down and around the corner to the front. So, all of the starboard side of the base has a crack. I've sanded off all paint down to fiberglass and intend to clean out the crack with a dremmel tool to see how deep it runs.
Questions: What is the structural composition of the mast base? I'm thinking the fiberglass around this base is not a key part of the structural strength and is only to keep water out? Therefore repair needs to only address sealing the crack? Or, do I need to create do reinforcing? Any help, ideas welcome. thanks
Questions: What is the structural composition of the mast base? I'm thinking the fiberglass around this base is not a key part of the structural strength and is only to keep water out? Therefore repair needs to only address sealing the crack? Or, do I need to create do reinforcing? Any help, ideas welcome. thanks