Broken Mast

[Gypsea Soul]

The problem was I started the repair before I even learned about sleaving and buying pieces. I did do a lot of investigation after this thread started and could not find the same type mast that I had to buy that would work. My mast is 45 years old. It was just easier to move forward in the direction I was going. I hope this will never happen again but one thing I am betting my life on is that my mast is 10 times stronger in the repairs then the rest of the mast. I believe in myself and the work I did. Even if it's not conventional in some people's opinions. I'm not sure how to upload pics. Will investigate.

[Gypsea Soul]

The repair was 900 but my spreaders needed to be rebuilt as well

[Gypsea Soul]

Uploading one pic at a time is to much work If anyone is interrested my FB profile is public and if you go to pics and choose rebuild Gypsea soul the pics are there. Mark j Reinhardt

[Fiveslide]

Finally got a chance to check out your photos this morning.

What material are the bolts you used on those splices? You might have some corrosion issues to deal with later. Keep a close eye on those areas.

Sent from my XT1080 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Gypsea Soul]

Good call Didn't think about that. Does Ss and aluminum not marry well. I'll watch them over the years. Thanks

[transmitterdan]

Originally Posted by Gypsea Soul

Good call Didn't think about that. Does Ss and aluminum not marry well. I'll watch them over the years. Thanks

No, SS and aluminum do not marry well. Aluminum is the sacrificial anode in a SS/AL joint. The aluminum will disintegrate over time in a salt water environment. About the only practical way to prevent this is to electrically insulate the aluminum from the stainless. There are thread dopes (Lanocote, et. al.) that attempt to do that for holes tapped in aluminum. For areas where stainless and aluminum surfaces meet insulating sheets of high density polyethylene (HDPE) are often used. Aluminum anodizing can help as alumina is an insulator.

[Fiveslide]

No, the two materials do not work well together.

Did you tap threads into the beam or use nuts and washers on the inside?

Perhaps it was an optical illusion, but one of your port side spreader mounting brackets looked bent. Like it didn't fit the mast surface well anymore. If so, you'll have some movement and accelerated wear in that area.

Sent from my XT1080 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Gypsea Soul]

I threaded the aluminum. I will look at that mount. The spreader were all messed up and had to be rebuilt.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Fiveslide

Finally got a chance to check out your photos this morning.

What material are the bolts you used on those splices? You might have some corrosion issues to deal with later. Keep a close eye on those areas.

Sent from my XT1080 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Well that was interesting...

Personal opinion is that I can see the merit of this style repair as a "limp home" for a proper repair or replacement...

Originally Posted by Gypsea Soul

The problem was I started the repair before I even learned about sleaving and buying pieces. I did do a lot of investigation after this thread started and could not find the same type mast that I had to buy that would work. My mast is 45 years old. It was just easier to move forward in the direction I was going. I hope this will never happen again but one thing I am betting my life on is that my mast is 10 times stronger in the repairs then the rest of the mast. I believe in myself and the work I did. Even if it's not conventional in some people's opinions. I'm not sure how to upload pics. Will investigate.

I believe you that the mast is "stronger in the areas of the repair"... 10X???? No way.... All you have done is make the mast "as strong" as:

1. In the gap sections = Exactly = The I beam's elastic modulus limit .
2. In the overlapping sections = The sum of the elastic modulus limit of the beam and mast extrusion MINUS the holes for the fasteners and stress concentration of them....

You have made the mast WEAKER:
1. In the mast extrusion above and below the I beam insert.
Which = the mast extrusion elastic limit MINUS the stress concentration at the I beam end... This only applies to above the beam if you have a length going from the keel step to the spreaders... AND... HOPEFULLY you have extended the insert well beyond the spreaders...

It's a very complicated equation, and harder if you don't have the bending moments of the beam... I'd be happy to run some numbers if you give the me the dimensions of the beam and the Ixx/Iyy of the mast....

I'm not trying to be a Naysayer... Downer... Jerk... or least of all expert... because I'm not... I just want you to be cautious about the limitations of the repair ...

[Boatguy30]

I could have found you a great used mast in NE florida for $1000. Not sure where you are.

Also, did the actual wire of the shroud break or did it break at a fitting? Most of us have never seen a wire break mid length that wasn't damage due to some type of collision.

Cheers,
Jeff

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

I could have found you a great used mast in NE florida for $1000. Not sure where you are.

Also, did the actual wire of the shroud break or did it break at a fitting? Most of us have never seen a wire break mid length that wasn't damage due to some type of collision.

Cheers,
Jeff

Pompano Beach...

[chris95040]

Originally Posted by Gypsea Soul

Good call Didn't think about that. Does Ss and aluminum not marry well. I'll watch them over the years. Thanks

Seriously?

There's a fine line between 'believing in yourself' and 'reckless disregard for safety'. Do you tell your visitors that the stick in the air is a rather poorly researched hack job?

I don't mean to be unkind, but to be frank, you asked folks for advice before starting and they clued you in that masts are complex bits of engineering, a lot of thought goes into their design, and you shouldnt slap an ibeam in because it looks right without doing any actual MATH to understand if it will stay in column.

You didn't like that response, so you ignored it. Ok. Maybe that thing will stay up. You sound like a pretty handy guy with good horse sense. But if that thing comes down and kills someone, it'll be your fault!!!

I'd have someone who actually understands mast design verify that I wasnt an accident waiting to happen. Buckling failure is a complex, non-intuitive phenomenon..

And you might reconsider how you assembled your witches brew of materials once you research galvanic corrosion.

DIY is great, love the people who take on projects like this. Not when they do it without a modicum of preparation and research, though.

Sorry to be a nag, but after your overtly boastful tone earlier in this thread I'd hate to see karma come knocking at the worst possible time. Get the design verified and maybe next time its down (hopefully at a yard ) try to isolate your incompatible metals to some degree.

And ill reiterate what other folks said, a used mast would have been stronger, easier, and cheaper....

[Delancey]

What I wanna know is how the mast broke in the first place?

Does a guy who thinks fixing a broken mast with a I-beam is a good idea also a guy who thinks that sailing around in 35 knots of breeze with 45-year old standing rigging is safe?

[Boatguy30]

This does all seem a bit crazy. I can sorta see if you had a piece of broken boat trailer and all the other pieces on hand, but to spend this kind of money for this type of repair?

[Gypsea Soul]

You know what they say about opinions The boat my be forty years old but the rigging is new.