how to replace mast footing

[Minnow]

Hello... my wife and I were given a CP16 as a gift from her grandparents.  As far as I can tell, it is a 1981 boat.  It had sat for a while and needed some help, but we sailed it twice this week of the coast of Southern Maine.  We had a great time and the boat performed great, even in 6-8 foot swells.  The problem is that while I was putting the mast down to trailer it home, the footing bracket screws pulled out.  I may have been at fault for letting the mast lean too far to one side ( I'm new to trailer boats), but now I need help.  I have found lot's of great information just by reading other peoples questions and answers on the site, but did not see anything about this.  I am curious why these screws would not be through bolts.  Any help or ideas would be appreciated.  Can I drill the screw holes through and replace them with through bolts?  Do I need to reinforce the area they screw into?  We love the boat and hope I didn't completely ruin it.  Thanks ahead of time.  -Jon & Amy in Southern Maine

[Gil Weiss]

See my answer in CP16 Forum

[LConrad]

Sort of by accident today, I leanred the Dwyer Aluminum Mast supplies Com-Pac.  When I called, they knew what mast was on the boat and have supporting parts

http://www.dwyermast.com/

[seabulz]

Just in case you haven't made the repair yet - here's a possibility you might consider.
I am 6'3", singlehand alot around Oceanside CA and really wanted to avoid wearing what seemed to be a continuous scar across the top of my head from love pats delivered from my boom while single handed tacking and other activities. It felt like an additional inch of head space between me and the boom would be warranted if I could get it. So I pulled the mast stepping flange off the cabin top shaped a piece of 1 inch thick Delrin to the width and forward edge, added a couple of inches to the after dimension and used the block as a spacer between the foot of the flange and the cabin top. I installed with through screws of the same diameter as original. I only backed the through screws with fender washers and used locking nuts to secure the whole thing.
The shrouds and forestay only had to be loosened, not resized which is why I only added the inch rather than two.
I suppose any industrial plastic supplier can source Delrin or a similiar strong material with good UV resistance - I used it only because I had some laying around from a different project and it met the need.
The top of my head is now scab free - a good thing because at the rate I'm losing my hair it will soon become a prominent feature.