Crack on the mast

[Sam644]

Crack in slot near masthead, port side, where cap shroud passes through the slot. The shroud wire is pushing against the top edge of the slot, resulting in short crack. Wire is 3/8" or 10mm, suggesting that crack is about 8mm in length. This slot is about 300mm from mast head. Probably, tensions of the shrouds from port amd starboard are different. Can it be repaired? Boat - Island Packet 38 ( 1990 ).

[zeehag]

take it to your rigger. riggers have welding tools. ye will have to step mast to fix it...

[donradcliffe]

I don't quite understand why the crack is on the top of the slot when the shroud is pulling down. In any case, it needs repairing/reinforcing, and that is what riggers do for a living.

[model 10]

Sure get a rigger to look at it but it may still be small enough to grind out. 8mm is not much. If you can grind out the crack completely (10x glass) you might not need to take the whole rig down.

[neilpride]

Don't make any weld right there with the mast up, my suggestion after fix dozen of cracks just right in the same spot, slots where the wire pass, drill a tiny hole at the end of the crack and make a proper repair with the mast down..... we fix it properly with the mast down making the slot bigger so the wire can swing freely at the slot ... If you can try to do it with the mast up be sure the mast is well supported with ropes .....a round file or a dremel is a must.....

[UNCIVILIZED]

There are half a dozen ways to fix it. All of them 20x easier with the mast down.
But the even more critical thing about dropping the rig for the fix, is that it'll let you take a GOOD look at everything up there. Including determining why it's cracking now, to begin with.
AND, to look for other problems, which likely have already begun in other areas up there. But which aren't so easily visible from a bosun's chair.
AKA it's dye penetrant, & possibly X-ray time... for everything up there. Ditto on pulling off all of the fittings & connections up there (were it me).

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Sam.

[Steve1944]

Assume your mast is not wood.

[Cadence]

As already said. Go to a rigger. Your mast is going to have to come down, one way or the other, and a rigger will be or know a reputable welder.

[Wench'sCaptain]

I had a similar crack on previous boat. Rigger was able to drill stop it and grind it down. He then put a re-enforcing plate/collar on with out stepping the mast. Best is to send High quality (HD) pictures to the Mast manufacturer and get advice. I might add that the vendor in my case said DO NOT weld. The consenus was crack was caused by Mast pumping.

[viking 1944]

As a welder/fabricator for 30 years I suggest doing this for a proper repair. The company product I'm familiar with is alumni-chek-kit made by Goodson. It's three spray cans of a cleaner, red dye and a white powder developer. Many cracks can be so small they're not visible to the eye but the red dye will penetrate any crack no matter how small and the white developer allows the dye to show after wiping off the excess so you can see where the crack ends so you can drill in the proper spot. Make CERTAIN the tig welder uses ONLY carbide tools to prepare the crack as grinding wheels will contaminate the aluminum resulting in a weld that will fail.
El Condor Pasa

[brianlara 3]

Years of professional welding of every imaginable method/material.
Listen carefully to every...single...word that Viking 1944 tells you.
He isn't promising cheap but he IS telling that his method is the only way to avoid a catastrophic mast failure.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by brianlara 3

Years of professional welding of every imaginable method/material.
Listen carefully to every...single...word that Viking 1944 tells you.
He isn't promising cheap but he IS telling that his method is the only way to avoid a catastrophic mast failure.

Cheap sounds like an accident looking for a place to happen.