Big mistake

[Subsailor637]

So I needed to haul my new Horizon Cat out of the slip, put it on the trailer and transport it.  Loaded up fine then parked away from the ramp.  Got everything secure then went to lower the mast.  Took out the small pin at the front of the hinge and undid the forestay.  Lowered the mast THEN REALIZED I HADN'T TAKEN OUT THE LONG PIN THAT WAS HOLDING THE BOOM ABOVE THE HINGE!  OH CR*P!!!!!  Put a couple of nice creases in the sail track and bent the long pin!!! So now I have to figure out how to get the creases out of the aluminum spar without cracking it, etc.  Probably not the first idiot to do this but a word of warning so hopefully someone else won't!

[skip1930]

Being nothing more than compressed mud, working the crease out of aluminum is not going to happen.

Either remove and replace the offending area, or go to plan #2. New spar.

There might be a way to make this work with the crease.

At P.J. Yachts we had a 'banger' that worked a flat sheet into a curve. We could bang in a curve but never without cracks. So we welded the crack shut and ground away the evidence.

skip.

[Subsailor637]

Well the "crease" as I call it is really right along the sail track as the hardware was pulled out of the track when the mast was unhinged.  So not a crease in the main part of the mast.  I was actually taking the boat to an auto body shop as I had an air bubble in the gelcoat at the hatch (brand new boat so Hutchins authorized repair to gelcoat).  They are looking at the sail track and think they can fix with tools they have.  Though as you stated, working with aluminum is tricky.

[Eagleye]

Subsailor,

This happens more than you may think.  Check out my post about what the PO did to the Mastendr on our Eclipse and how I repaired it.
Allen

http://cpyoa.geekworkshosting.com/forum/index.php?topic=5406.0

[Craig]

That is one of the reasons some of us never use the long pin when sailing.Way too easy to forget! I almost did it once on my Suncat. Gerry Hutchins has commented several times that the long pin is designed to keep the boom BELOW the hinge when lowering the mast and is NOT meant to be in place when sailing to keep the boom up. For some reason it is out there that the large pin is used when sailing.......which completely negates the boom downhaul as a sail adjustment tool. The good news is several folks have come up with ways to repair the mast.

[CaptRon28]

When my Horizon is left in the water for several weeks or longer, I tend to use the pin to hold the boom above the hinge. Two reasons - easier to raise sail if all of the hardware is above the hinge, and more headroom in the cockpit. Even when I trailer sail it, I've gotten into the habit of locking the boom up there just after the mast is rigged. I can't see myself ever trying to lower the mast with the boom above the hinge - it's too obvious that it's not going to work.

Next year I may also try to raise the aft end of the boom with the sail down. Maybe build a wooden extension that slides onto the gallows to add another foot or so. I'd like to keep the bimini up when motoring or at the dock and that can't happen with the boom resting on the gallows. A topping lift might work as well, but holding it up with the gallows may offer more support.

[Subsailor637]

As an update; I picked up the boat yesterday from the auto body shop and they did an outstanding job of getting the two "spreads" out of the sail track (one in upper mast section and one in lower).  I put the mast up today and ran the sail up and down.  Everything worked very smoothly which surprised me somewhat because when the two sections came together there was a slight mismatch between the upper and lower sections on the right side of the track.  I thought I was going to have to finesse the edges a little with a ball pien hammer or rubber mallet.  Even though I didn't sail, the wind was fairly strong when I ran the sail up and down so I think I'm in pretty good shape!  Anyone in the Peoria Illinois area ever in need of auto body work should definitely look up D's paint and auto body!.  The kicker on all this is Denny the owner of D's (who was doing some gelcoat repair for me) didn't charge me to fix the mast!! I think he took pity on my stupidity!!!

[Craig]

Nothing stupid about it! VERY easy to do! Especially so if you are relatively new to the boat and working quickly or solo. Those of us who suffer from CRS are especially susceptible to Murphy's Law. Which is why, despite the(valid) reasons cited in previous posts, I only use the long pin for its intended purpose. I need all the help I can get remembering stuff. Glad you got it fixed ok! There are still some really nice folks in the business world!