I saw on Catalina direct( a boat supply parts catalog) an upgrade to the mast step plate; where large plates flared on both sides provided space and placement of predrilled holes. This allowed for 6-8 blocks or other hardware to be well mounted.
Does compac have anything like this available for the C 23?
Go to Dwyer - http://www.dwyermast.com/items.asp?cat1ID=40&cat1Name=Hardware&familyID=19&familyName=Halyard+Organizer+Plates (http://www.dwyermast.com/items.asp?cat1ID=40&cat1Name=Hardware&familyID=19&familyName=Halyard+Organizer+Plates)
You'll find it there.
TG
I caution all to not over think or over build any mast tabernacle.
They simply CAN sit on the deck with a chunk of 1/2 plywood epoxied on
to the underside of the cabin top. Actually replacement plywood chunks
goes in from the top, once the old wood is ground out. That's if you want
to keep the cabin liner on the typical XL looking stock.
Next your chose. Factory wood screws into the plywood. Or drill clean
through and bolted in place around the circumference of the compression post
or the cabin supporting arch.
This is not rocket science. I'll bet the factory doesn't spend 15 minutes making
and installing the the tabernacle with its plywood hard point.
skip.
I replaced mine with the stock Com-Pac plate however, if I were to do it again I would use this:
(http://i1007.photobucket.com/albums/af200/brackish_photos/dh2174olsm.jpg)
This is from Dwyer, but fits the Com-Pac 23 mast extrusion (also from Dwyer). There is a pin that is permanently installed on the mast (picture on the dwyer site) that has shoulders to keep it centered in the step. It eliminates the need to remove the wing nut, bolt, washers and spacers, speeds up raising and lowering the mast.
I would take that step to a weld shop and have wings added to it for halyard and topping lift blocks. I would mount like it is currently mounted, with all purpose screws rather than through bolting. The screws are sacrificial in nature in the event of a mast raising or lowering that gets laterally out of control. A hundred bucks to replace the step and fix the glass under much better than a thousand bucks for a new mast.
How about the hinge? Does anybody have experience (good or bad) with using hinges? http://www.dwyermast.com/items.asp?cat1ID=40&cat1Name=Hardware&familyID=18&familyName=Hinges (http://www.dwyermast.com/items.asp?cat1ID=40&cat1Name=Hardware&familyID=18&familyName=Hinges)