More problems! Dent/ Bent Mast. Opinions?

[Mattlikesbikes]

Well I was going to go to West  Marine today and pick up a bullet block to mount a topping lift on the mast.  While I was checking out the mast this morning for a suitable mounting spot I noticed it was not straight. There was a dent in the mast I saw when I picked the boat up but did not really check if it was straight.

The dent is not creased so that is one good thing. The dent and bend is right above the spreaders. I am not sure what to do. I am pretty sure it has been there for a while.  I might give Hutchens a call and find out the price of a mast but I am sure it is going to be super expensive. I am also going to call around to try to find out how much it would cost to sleeve it . or just keep checking Craigs List this summer for a mast from another boat

I think at this point I am still going to put it in the water on Friday and see how she sails.

What do you guys think?

[Mattlikesbikes]

I just called up Hutchins and a replacement mast is $870 Plus freight so it would be around $1000 way more then I can spend at the moment.

I might try bending it out.

Does anybody know of any places around Eastern PA /NJ that repair masts? Just curious what the cost would be?

[MacGyver]

The Masts are typically made by Dwyer masts.
Do a search on Google.
Might be Dwyermast.com or Dwyer.com.....

Mac

[marc]

I bought a Compac 19 last fall and had concerns about my mast when I found a dent. Here are some pics.




I took the mast to Dwyer mast Co. They were the folks who supplied our masts to Compac. The construction guru took a look and said no problem. It's just getting broken in. The difference between my mast and yours is that mine is straight from top to bottom. I guess if it was my boat, I'd put the mast up. Seems to me you can straighten the mast with shroud tension.

[Mattlikesbikes]

Hey MacGyver and Marc Thanks for the info.  I just checked out Dwyer's site and it looks I will be around $300ish plus shipping for just the
extrusion and sail feed which is doable if I need it.   I called them up and the girl I talked to thinks they have the mast plan for the CP19 and will email me some prices.

I think I am going to go with Marc's idea for now and just try to straighten it out with shroud tension. I do not want to take a chance of screwing up trying to bend it back and further weaken it.

[skip1930]

Guys around here take there bent [not creased] mast and place it into the vee of a tree and apply a little body weight here and there until the mast looked straight enough. It's very easy to bend. When you have it straight, and erected, crawl into the vee birth area and sight up the mast through the fwd. hatch. If you play with the tension of the turnbuckles you'd be surprised at just how 'spaghetti' like the mast is.

Dwyer is the mast supplier.
2 Commerce Dr.,
N. Branford,
CT 06471, USA

Phone: (203) 484-0419
Fax: (203) 484-2014

E-Mail: sail@dwyermast.com

Mast Extrusions and Fittings

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skip.

[Billy]

Bob23 had a bent mast and posted his fix. Pretty sure it is somewhere in the "Continuing adventures of Koinonia" thread that is about 15 pages long.

He had some super top secret method for straightening out his mast.


......I've already said too much.

[Salty19]

At the risk of being paid a visit by Bob or one of his associate, here is his post.
http://cpyoa.geekworkshosting.com/forum/index.php?topic=2854.255

Might need to go to page 18 if the link takes you to the most recent page.

Wow, I have said way too much, haven't I Billy. 


Personally I would try the V tree like Skip suggested, should take care of it quickly.

[Bob23]

Yes, both of you guys know too much. And now it's coitains for ya, mugsy!
Matt:
   It appears your mast is bent side to side. That would  be easy to straighten out and just tensioning the shrouds correctly might do the trick. Mine was bent fore and aft and the top secret method which is shown on page 18 of the "Koinonia" thread did indeed work. The mast is straight as an arrow. In my case, tensioning the shrouds did not remove the bow.
   However, the boat sailed just the same either way so straighting the mast was a personal preference because it looked really odd from the side. Yes, it was that bowed that it was noticeable from the side from a distance. But she's straight now. You definitely do not need a new mast unless there is a crease in it from a serious impact. Just sail and enjoy the boat and thanks for your contributions here at the site!
Bob23

[Harrier]

I would be cautious about trying to straighten it.  In Bobs post the mast was described as being "gently bowed" to me thats different then being "bent".  One is a continuous bend that occurs over some length, the other is a local bend at a point.  Perhaps Bob can clarify? 
From the pictures you provided, your mast has a small dent at the bend is all located at that point.  You are not going to take that out that dent by trying to rebend the mast.  Instead you are likely to just compensate for the bend by putting a reverse bend into the mast.  In my opinion this is a worse situation, as you start putting the mast into a prebuckled "s" shape.   

Where your mast is bent is also an important factor.  The good new is, yours is bent at just about the best possible point.  The concern from a bent mast is buckling.  The purpose of the lower shrouds is to prevent buckling.  Because your bend is at the spreaders, any additional risk of buckling should not be a concern.  If the bend were half way between the spreaders and the deck, then its a different story.

I say leave as is, and use the upper shroud to straighten.  But, if you do attempt to restraighten be cautious and move slow.  Fixture the mast at the deck end and directly below the bend.  Apply the load at the mast head.  This will force the max stress location at the bend and hopefully minimize your risk of introducing a new bend at a different spot.   Want to experiment?  Take a piece of copper pipe and put a bend into it similiar to your mast, then try and take it out.

[crazycarl]

i have to second not fixing it.

we have a sailor up here that bought his sailboat at a discount because the mast was dented at the spreaders while in transit to the dealer.

his intention was to fix it himself, but he had already paid for a mooring at burnham harbor in chicago, so he splashed her thinking he would fix it over the winter.

that was that was 31 years ago and the dent is still there.

he said as the years went on, fixing the dent became less important to him, 'til he forgot about it altogether.

i say sail her now, keep an eye on it, and if it causes trouble , then fix it.

but, then, here i am not sailing and painting my bilge because it wasn't to my liking...

carl

[Bob23]

   Indeed, mine was a gentle fore and aft bow. If there were a crease or fold in the mast, I'd opt not to try and straighten it. Aluminum will fatigue severly or break if tried to bend it a second time.
   I like Carl's philosophy...just sail it.
Bob23