Dents in Mast - Dangerous? Repair?

[NateD]

Well, we got my new to us CP23 rigged up and I noticed something disturbing, two dents in the side of the mast. We bought the boat in South Carolina and towed it back to Minnesota. The dents in the mast appear to be in the spots where the mast was resting in the bow and stern pulpits. I'm probably going to have a professional rigger take a look at the spar, but wanted to get other opinions too. I know Hutchins generally overbuilds their boats, and the dents are not close to any significant stress points on the mast (goose neck, spreaders, masthead), so how dangerous does it look?

How about repairs? I've heard of internal sleeves being used, can that be done on a CP23 mast? What about just riveting a patch over the dented outside portion of the mast?

[Glenn Basore]

My choice would be to have a professional look at it !

Some one once told me, if your mast has a sharp crease (dent) in it that it was not repairable, a slight bend however could be straighten out.

This looks as close to a crease without getting the sharp edge. it does appear to have a "fold" appearance to it.

My concern would be, once the metal has been stretched it has become weaker.

I like the idea of using an internal sleeve to reshape it and perhaps leaving it in to beef it up.

Will it hold ?

keep us posted.

Glenn

[Tim Gardner]

Looks to me to be time to turn your mast step into a mastender type system that Com-Pac is using on their 23M version of the 23.  Go to their website and look at their New Section.



TG

[skip1930]

No tear on aluminum, no torn aluminum, no sweat.
It's not worth the effort to saw cut the bent aluminum area out and weld in a new piece.
Nothing structural here to worry about on this extrusion. Especially being so low and close to the tabernacle.
As long as the mast is still straight, and the slot still is open enough for the rope of the sail to slide in, all is well.
Any bent aluminum mast can be put in the crotch of a tree and bent straight again. Pull a string tight against it to check for the straightness.
A sleeve for the inside is going to be caught where the bore pinches in. If it's less in dia and doesn't touch the indent and can be pushed past the dent, then what good is it? Sleeves are for when the mast is saw cut in half to take out a bad section or to change the mast's length.
A riveted patch over the dent does nothing since there is no broken torn metal to deal with. It doesn't add strength.
Leave it alone go sailing.
As a once employed hull fitter at Palmer Johnson Yachts [now up for sale as owner Timmor Mohammad in London is tired of making his consortium of $$ Billionaires into $ Millionaires] we put things like this together.

That's 104 ton of aluminum son, $22 million our cost. $44 million finished. Don't let a few dents ruin your day.
skip.

[millsy]

That's a fairly deep dent.  I would suggest taking a straight edge across the mast and see if is out of column.  Definitely have a rigger offer an opinion in any event.

Chris
C-23 Dolce 

[Bob23]

Nate:
   Now this is only my opinion but if it were me, I'd buy a new mast or get reimbursed by the guy who bent it. When aluminum is bent a second time, it is significantly weakened and often breaks at that point. There is download to any mast in my amatuer genius engineering mind, the load at the base of the mast has got to be something. I wonder if being so loaded, it could buckle sideways? That could ruin your day.
Bob23

[skip1930]

I agree. If you try to bend-out the dent, which will not happen, the aluminum will tear, creating a need to replace.
Again any slight bend [not dent] can be bounced out with the help of a sturdy tree crotch.

Don't for get that there is are two internal stiffeners, creating a channel for the sail rope, inside this extrusion that have not been touched by this dent.

In jest, you could switch to a graff rig and cut off all the offending section of stick and be rid of the spreaders as well. Or re~rig the mast end for end.

skip.

[Bob23]

Y'know, I've transported my mast on it's side on both bow and stern rails with no problems. I did heavily pad it with some foam. I think  your mast damage is due to an impact and not improper transport. Just my opinion.
Bob23

[skip1930]

A drop! Not a bounce.....HUuuummmmmmmmm might have something there.

"I wonder if being so loaded, it could buckle sideways?" When sailing? I'm thinking not possible without side standing rigging giving way. The force is down and not sideways. The standing rigging is trying to pull the mast clean through to the bottom of the boat. Just my opinion.

I take 1/4-20 U-Bolts and wing nuts on my pulpits through 2 x 4's of wood.
And then take PVC electric tape and go around the mast and wood about six times in an X pattern.
Ain't no bounce there. Not possible. And I have no dents.
Note that I off-set the mast so I can go below more comfortably.

Like my little Sampson Post? That is made from Aluminum-Bronze fuel line from Palmer Johnson Yachts. I TIG-ed it together from scrap after work one day. I should have made the ss tube cross piece a tad longer. The base has the same bolt pattern as the Com-Pac cleat.

By the way on the Yacht's fuel line is totally isolated from going to ground. Think about it. There has to be 100+ foot of welded fuel line and the Meg-Ohm meter never moves when testing for ground and crawling around and under the V-16~4000 Kw Mann engines, the day tank, and the 64,000 gallons of fuel tanks all are isolated.

skip.