Mast Base set up.

[bigdog5]

Hi,As I'm toying with the idea of getting more serious with sailing I could do with a bit of advice with deck stepped masts.My M/s is ferro but I assume that the principles would be the same in any material.The pipe which supports the mast from the deck sits directly on the floor about 4 inchs behind a frame with another frame about 2feet forward .I'm thinking along the lines of a solid steel beam between the two with the mast support sitting on top thus spreading the load to the frames rather than direct to the floor.My question is am I worried about nothing and trying to reinvent the wheel, or would this be a sensible idea?Thanks Dave .

[SkiprJohn]

A diagram might help a bit but what I understand is that you have a mast step on cabin top and underneath that a compression post and the compression post goes to the cabin sole and atop a floor (thwartship frame) of timber or steel. What you are asking is if there should be a support spreading the load from one floor to the other?

I'd say that your compression post should extend it's load to the keel. If there is a space between the bottom of the compression post to the top of the keel then that space should be filled with a noncompressive material that can live in a bilge or there should be something very strong to bridge that gap from one floor to the other to spread the load on top the keel and up a way on the hull.

Do your blueprints or plans have that detail?

Just my opinion.

kind regards,

[bigdog5]

Thanks for that Capt John,I'm sorry I didn't explain my question clearly.The compression post goes directly to the top of the keel with no provision for the load to be spread to the adjacent frames.I've had the boat nearly 20 years with this set up cruising around the Hauraki gulf(I see your familiar withNZ) but as I'm contemplating the West coast etc I'm going over things with an eye to belt and braces reliability .I found your site very informative and if I'd read it 20 yrs ago I'd no doubt have more money and a bit less gray hair,thanks Dave. Ps I have no plans etc to refer to.