Endeavor 33 Mast step corroded

[jackiemelni]

Hey mates,
I just did a survey on Endeavor 33 in FL and its in very good condition, but the mast step is found corroded and maybe need a fix soon.
I gave a call to a boat yard that fixed stuff like that and they quote to fix that can cost 8-10k.
I want to bring a rigger to see if I still can sail a bit like this till one of the latin american countries or DR to fix it there for cheaper price.
Would you recommend a place to do fix this kind of stuff?
Mexico, DR, Guatemala or Panama??

[psk125]

8-10k$ to fix a corroded mast step makes it sound like there are big problems in the bilge on this boat. Corroded mast steps are usually quite simple to fix. You find a block or two of G-10 or similar that will take the place of the corroded step, cut a pocket for the mast to sit in, and replace the corroded step. Sometimes it can be done while the mast simply jacked up a few inches, so it doesn't even have to come entirely out. Is this step welded onto several of the floors (ribs), with corrosion all over everything? Photos would be helpful to better show the extent of the problem.

[jackiemelni]

Originally Posted by psk125

8-10k$ to fix a corroded mast step makes it sound like there are big problems in the bilge on this boat. Corroded mast steps are usually quite simple to fix. You find a block or two of G-10 or similar that will take the place of the corroded step, cut a pocket for the mast to sit in, and replace the corroded step. Sometimes it can be done while the mast simply jacked up a few inches, so it doesn't even have to come entirely out. Is this step welded onto several of the floors (ribs), with corrosion all over everything? Photos would be helpful to better show the extent of the problem.

Thank you for the reply.
Whats a G-10?? I saw a few answers on the internet that I can cut off the corroded steel and make a concrete mast step.
No its not corroded all over the boat, just this step. It Like a plate, with two little walls and on top of that an aluminum plate, and the mast sits on that.

Ill try to upload a photo.

Cannot upload a photo.
The file is too big to upload :/

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by jackiemelni

...
Cannot upload a photo.
The file is too big to upload :/

When I first read the post I thought it meant the steps to climb the mast. It was only when I read the first response that I understood.

A photo would really help, try photo editing software to reduce the image size.

It would help too to clarify whether deck stepped or keel stepped mast. I have had a 26 foot yacht with deck stepped mast for 20 years and the steel compression post has been sitting/bolted on to a very rusty steel foot (I-beam) that sits in the bilge sounds similar to what you describe. The little beam is about 400mm in length and about 100mm of each end is glassed in to the hull (she has an encapsulated keel).

And Psk is likely correct, the job might be able to be done by just jacking up the mast. That would work fine on my yacht.

I remember before I bought the boat, the surveyor explaining that it will need replacement (common fault on the type of yacht). I've never worried about it. Even rusty steel has significant inherent strength.

It's one of those jobs I mean to do one day. I wouldn't expect to pay much to fix though. Lift boat, drop mast and remove compression post. Dig out the I-beam from the fibreglass. Cut a new I-beam, drill the 2 fixing holes and glass in again. Bolt down compression post, raise mast and lift back in to water. I'd expect to get the entire job done with some change for beers out of NZ$1,000.

And of course it will take longer and cost more cos it's a boat. But $8K that's serious money from someone telling porkies or the issue is far worse than you describe OP.

[psk125]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-10_(material)
You need something that is water-impervious like G-10 or a high-density plastic to re-create the plate and two little walls and the flat on top.
The drawings on this site https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/endeavour-33/ indicate that the mast is stepped in the bilge.

[jackiemelni]

Originally Posted by psk125

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-10_(material)
You need something that is water-impervious like G-10 or a high-density plastic to re-create the plate and two little walls and the flat on top.
The drawings on this site https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/endeavour-33/ indicate that the mast is stepped in the bilge.

How much you think it can cost to make something like this??

[hpeer]

I’m just did something vaguely similar.

$400? If it is just a step.

But some pics would help.

The quote makes it sound like something else is going on.

[Spot]

Does the E33 situation look something like this?



Discussion located here:
https://www.endeavourowners.com/dscs...ral/ibeam.html

[jackiemelni]

Originally Posted by Spot

Does the E33 situation look something like this?



Discussion located here:
https://www.endeavourowners.com/dscs...ral/ibeam.html

Yes something like that, but we didnt lifted the floor to see it, only a small square and saw it from the side, but yeah coroded just like that.

[psk125]

Originally Posted by jackiemelni

How much you think it can cost to make something like this??

This is where a picture would help.
Went looking, and there is an Endeavor 33 Owners Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=...71041514713022
where another owner has issues with his mast step and posted a picture.
It looks like a machine shop could weld you up something that looks like that for a few hundred dollars, if not less. (It's not that big.)
What worried the Facebook poster was rust in the I-beam that the step is bolted to. This I-beam apparently spreads the load of the mast over several of the floors (ribs). You would need to to determine exactly how bad the corrosion and/or rust is in your situation, and what is corroded. The photo here does not really show the I-beam, and with your boat the mast is covering the actual step that the photo does show. Where exactly is the corrosion that your surveyor is talking about? Is it at the base of the mast, or in the I-beam underneath the step itself? What does he think?
If the I-beam is the problem, it's a bigger problem than just the mast step. It could be that scraping down the I-beam and giving it a good coat of epoxy paint would give it a new lease on life. Or it could need replacing, which might mean lifting up the cabin sole getting it out, and fastening a new one in. It isn't rocket science, but it takes time, which is why having a yard do it might cost $8 or 10k. A handy owner could probably also do it for less than $1000, though taking the mast out would make it easier and add to the cost.

[jackiemelni]

Originally Posted by psk125

This is where a picture would help.
Went looking, and there is an Endeavor 33 Owners Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=...71041514713022
where another owner has issues with his mast step and posted a picture.
It looks like a machine shop could weld you up something that looks like that for a few hundred dollars, if not less. (It's not that big.)
What worried the Facebook poster was rust in the I-beam that the step is bolted to. This I-beam apparently spreads the load of the mast over several of the floors (ribs). You would need to to determine exactly how bad the corrosion and/or rust is in your situation, and what is corroded. The photo here does not really show the I-beam, and with your boat the mast is covering the actual step that the photo does show. Where exactly is the corrosion that your surveyor is talking about? Is it at the base of the mast, or in the I-beam underneath the step itself? What does he think?
If the I-beam is the problem, it's a bigger problem than just the mast step. It could be that scraping down the I-beam and giving it a good coat of epoxy paint would give it a new lease on life. Or it could need replacing, which might mean lifting up the cabin sole getting it out, and fastening a new one in. It isn't rocket science, but it takes time, which is why having a yard do it might cost $8 or 10k. A handy owner could probably also do it for less than $1000, though taking the mast out would make it easier and add to the cost.

Well, we didnt raised the floor, but it seems from the side that the step is corroded, and the I-beam, and the box that next to the nav station.
I think the whole thing under the floor.
I saw another Endeavor that is for sale and in the description it sais that it got fixed&replaced in 2007.
Ill go check it out tomorrow and if it in much better condition, ill go with that one.

[psk125]

Spent so long preparing my post (dinner) that Spot got his photo in ahead of me. If the I-beam looks like Spot's photo, it definitely needs attention. How much attention depends upon how bad the rust is and how it might be fixed. You might be able to scrape & paint, or you might be able to weld new flanges into place if there's good material to connect to. Or the whole thing might need to come out. There are some interesting fixes in the discussion link posted with Spot's photo. Stainless inserts. Concrete... In any case your seller needs to come down enough to enable you to fix it at your cost.

[jackiemelni]

Originally Posted by psk125

Spent so long preparing my post (dinner) that Spot got his photo in ahead of me. If the I-beam looks like Spot's photo, it definitely needs attention. How much attention depends upon how bad the rust is and how it might be fixed. You might be able to scrape & paint, or you might be able to weld new flanges into place if there's good material to connect to. Or the whole thing might need to come out. In any case your seller needs to come down enough to enable you to fix it at your cost.

Yeah for sure... Ill give him my price for the boat once i get my survey report.

[hpeer]

FWIW, and I have a vastly different boat, I had to have an aluminum mast step made this year. The boat is 1987, the original (deck stepped mast) had fractured in several veins. The original was a cast aluminum piece. The metal worker bought a piece of 2” thick aluminum and shaped it to fit into the mast.

Amazingly, with all his equipment, he shaped the step with a table saw.

The cost for that effort was not broken out but it took roughly 8 hours @ $80/hour plus cost of material, a few hundred.

It is hard to see a purpose for G-10 in this photo.

Steel MAY look really bad but when cleaned up it may just need treatment and paint.

OTOH steel can look not that bad and upon cleaning serious defects may be found.

In any case the quote you received sounds very high to me. Not all technicians have the same skill sets. But they are all sure of themselves. This is a tricky case of finding the right technical person.

The point about checking the Owners group is well taken.