Bent mast - replace, repair or use?

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

NO NO NO, with such a critical bend you NEED a new mast, new standing rigging and no doubt new running rigging as well, your rigger knows best.


Do yourself a favour and get a second opinion from a rigger recommended by at least three other sailors that you know.

sorry...gota disagree. that's nowhere near a critical bend, and relatively easy to correct with rigging tension

these guys

https://www.pbo.co.uk/practical-proj...ent-mast-28876

went a bit further than i'd suggest, but shows what can be done. aluminium is relatively soft, and it's the rigging that holds it all up...not the mast

cheers,

[bjor]

Originally Posted by chrisr

sorry...gota disagree. that's nowhere near a critical bend, and relatively easy to correct with rigging tension

these guys

https://www.pbo.co.uk/practical-proj...ent-mast-28876

went a bit further than i'd suggest, but shows what can be done. aluminium is relatively soft, and it's the rigging that holds it all up...not the mast

cheers,

I looked at that project. I have now made an appointment with a mechanical workshop nearby that has experience with aluminium, and they will help me fix the bend in a controlled manner for a small amount, and make sure that the material is not compromised. Now, I only need to find a smart method to move the mast to the workshop, will not put in on the roof of the car .

[Spot]

Hi Bjor,

Chotu on the forum just moved a long mast, maybe there is a picture of his method and trailer.

[Stewie12]

Heck, if it has lasted 3 years. Why worry unless you are intending to cross an ocean.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by bjor

I am new to this forum, but I hope that the experts here may give me some advice.

I own a Granada sailboat, and recently had a rigger check my mast.

It turned out that the mast is bent in the area around the top spreader (see picture). There is no visible sign of injury, creasing etc to the aluminium. It seems to me that the bend is somewhere between 5-10 cm.

I have owned the boat for three years and I do not know if the bend has been there all the time. I have not noticed it before the mast was taken down.

The rigger inspecting the mast advised to get a new mast, which they could provide. However, a new mast cost more than the boat.

I would greatly appreciate any advice on whether the only alternative is to replace the mast. Is it possible/advisable to "repair" the bend? Is it possible to trim the rig to "equalize" the bend and use the rig as before?

All helpful comments and advice is greatly appreciated.

Attachment 236333

Frankly, I can't see the bend - but that's a low bar as my eyes aren't what they once were which wasn't all that great to begin with. I think I'd have somebody who's not in the business of selling masts look at it. If there is a slight bend, it seems like it could taken out fairly easily on the hard. I would not risk compromising my chain plates by attempting to straighten it with the stays and shrouds.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

NO NO NO, with such a critical bend you NEED a new mast, new standing rigging and no doubt new running rigging as well, your rigger knows best.

Do yourself a favour and get a second opinion from a rigger recommended by at least three other sailors that you know.

I would probably continue to use this mast with the bend. You can straighten it out with rig tension. If the mast is straight under moderate tension then the compression loads will be supported. This should not be a problem, but you'll need to keep a close watch in the entire rig. Get in the habit of checking the rig tension while sailing and sighting up the mast track with your eyeball right on the track above the gooseneck. In this way you will quickly spot and lack of straightness.

I would not attempt to take the bend out by bending it the other way on the ground. It would have to be pulled and then relaxed to see if it got straight.

It would only take a slight miscalculation to put a perm bend in it the other way, or introduce a kink, or a weakened spot.

[bjor]

Originally Posted by wingssail

I would probably continue to use this mast with the bend. You can straighten it out with rig tension. If the mast is straight under moderate tension then the compression loads will be supported. This should not be a problem, but you'll need to keep a close watch in the entire rig. Get in the habit of checking the rig tension while sailing and sighting up the mast track with your eyeball right on the track above the gooseneck. In this way you will quickly spot and lack of straightness.

I would not attempt to take the bend out by bending it the other way on the ground. It would have to be pulled and then relaxed to see if it got straight.

It would only take a slight miscalculation to put a perm bend in it the other way, or introduce a kink, or a weakened spot.

Thanks for comments. I agree that bending it the other way can be risky and I will be very careful with that. Tomorrow me and some friends will carry (3 km/2 miles) the mast to the mechanical workshop. It will take some whisky and a 6 feet distance between each person to maintain spirit, and keep the corona away

[Cheechako]

Looks like a somewhat normal bend to me, you adjust your mast straight with the rigging! If that's what it is you better change riggers!
Someone is trying to drum up some business....
Have you considered sliding it to one side on the sawhorses to make it straight? :>)

[Rob_P]

Originally Posted by bjor

Thanks for comments. I agree that bending it the other way can be risky and I will be very careful with that. Tomorrow me and some friends will carry (3 km/2 miles) the mast to the mechanical workshop. It will take some whisky and a 6 feet distance between each person to maintain spirit, and keep the corona away

I suggest singing a few sea shanties to keep the morale up. Cold Corona's would help with that too so I don't see why you're denying your help that respite. T'were me, I'd have a mobile beer cooler brought along in case any of those scurvy dogs got dehydrated during the portage.

This one is good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEpAMm0-kVg

The 6 feet part is a good idea! Your bottle of beer is over there, this sixer is mine...

[meirriba]

My advice is: if you are not willing to replace it (be it new or secondhand) - leave it as it is!
Every mast bends while sailing and comes straight again when sails are down. The mast is supposed to be flexible.
But your mast has a permanent bend - this means it went through excessive pressure/trauma and is weakened at the bend.
Straightened it will undergo another trauma and subsequent weakening of the same area. You will just be closer to disaster for no very important reason.
Better leave it as it is and sail away.
The boat will behave differently on each tack, but unless you want to race it, it will just be a known quirk, nothing more.
Meanwhile,if it still bothers you, look around for suitable used (straight) one.
Dont waste time and money on an action that will get you a better looking mast but in worse condition than it is now...

[MicHughV]

This is the key fact to consider.....the mast needs to stay " in column" to function, ie, straight up and down, whether the boat is at rest or heeled over. All the various shrouds and stays are there to keep the mast " in column". The bend may have been caused by uneven tension on the one side or another, ie, the mast took a bend until the the shroud got loaded....or....the mast, under load, must absorb considerable compression loads...the bottom of the mast must bear on some type of "compression post"....the "compression posts" on boats differ from one to the other, but if the " compression post" sags or deforms for any reason, under load, all the shrouds and stays will loosen.
In the same breath, a shroud fitting can also work loose or otherwise get deformed, especially under load, so that the shroud has excessive slack when under load.

Double spreader rigs, especially, are complicated to tension properly, depending on how the boat is rigged.

Nonetheless, accepting and checking all the above, if the mast can be correctly re-installed and properly " re-tensioned"...this would be a good time to eyeball the mast to see that it is perfectly " in column". A test sail, with the sails up also needs to done to ascertain, that the mast remains "in column" while under load.

While a mast can be bent by use of a " backstay adjuster", one must remember that a mast x-section has varying wall thickness and depth, ie, it is usually longer fore and aft, than it's width, bending it backwards to alter sail shape is not quite the same as the mast bending sideways..

I tend to agree with the above comments, that asking the rigger for an opinion is like asking your dentist if you need to schedule another appointment.

Get someone that knows his stuff for a second opinion and get it re-installed "correctly"

[Cheechako]

Again... I see no kink in it. Are you worried about the gradual bend? masts bend side to side super easy. The rigging should make it straight as an arrow. You are risking $15000 trying to bend it. Once you kink the sidewall , it's scrap.

[MicHughV]

I agree.....put the thing back on the boat, and install and tension it properly..

[MicHughV]

but...while it's on the ground....check all the fittings, turnbuckles, etc, make sure any tensioning problem didn't originate there..

[JPA Cate]

Hello, Bjor, welcome to CF, opinons galore!

I agree with Pete 7, chrisr, and wingssail on this. That is a gentle bend, it is not a kink.

When you are sighting up the mainsail track, as Fred described, with your eye right there, you will be able to see when your retensioning has begun to and finally got there with making it straight. That straightness is what we're calling "in column".

You then need to check it again, under sail, and when double reefed, to make sure the
mast stays in column.

Every time you go for a sail, you should check, to make sure nothing has changed.

There is a book the Americans use for learning about rig tuning, written by Brian Toss, and perhaps it is to be had from your library. Otherwise, see if you can find an article on tuning your own rig in Practical Sailor. That should start you on your way.

Ime, riggers vary considerably. Some are quite willing to give you advice; others' advice may be flat out wrong. The suggestion above to find a rigger recommended by at least 3 sailors, was aimed at finding one of the good guys. Usually, they handle it okay when they find out they are not going to get rich off of you. Find one you can trust, if you don't try and dig out what you need to know.

Ann