Below the mast step

[Marty McOmber]

Hi all,

We are having some work done on Meridian (1985 Passport 40) at the CSR boatyard in Seattle.  We pulled the mast and are working on dealing with some issues caused by water leaking around the mast over years that has affected the mast step area.

Right now, things don't look worse than I expected. In fact, the actual metal mast step is in not bad shape and will probably just need some sand blasting and painting.

My first question is what lies under the mast step.  Does anyone know what construction technique Passport used for the solid, athwart-ships shelf (boge) that my keel-stepped mast sits on (and to which the mast step is bolted)? The yard is curious as to what we might find when we take a closer look.

Otherwise, we look to be dealing with repairing, replacing or removing sections of water-damaged stringers and bulkheads.  Not a huge deal and most of it is out of sight. 

My second question: have any of you removed the mast collar at the deck? Looks like typical passport construction. Assume there is a metal backing ring that is embedded in the deck and tapped for the collar's fasteners.  I'm thinking about removing and rebedding.  And planning on it being a PIA due to the metal ring and stainless fasteners.  So will be using heat, penetrating oil, impact hammer to work them loose.    

Thanks for your help.

Best,

--

Marty McOmber 

Editor

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[Bill Schmidt]

Marty, the only person that is likely to have the answers to your questions probably is part of Passport Yachts East....i.e. Thom Wagner. Otherwise, you may be blazing trails where others have not yet tred. Either way, the information to this group will be invaluable, I am sure. Bon Chance!
Billy Manana (with a deck stepped mast on Wind Witch).

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[Marty McOmber]

Thanks Bill.

If I'm in uncharted territory with the mast step question, then we probably won't find any issues once we remove it.  As for the mast collar, that seems pretty straight forward. And in fact, I think I can see the metal backing plate.

If you don't know, Bill, then it might not be known :)

I will ping Thom.  But if anyone else has an idea, please chime in!

[Rob Raymond]

On our '84 P40 the mast went onto an aluminum mast step that was bolted to a rusty steel mast base that was glassed the an athwart-ships cast in place resin block. I replaced the mast base with a G10 base that I glassed to the the resin block.

Here's at picture of the end result
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/112819093554548547965/albums/6112482981547691473/6112482984935054146

The mast mast collar is screwed into a rusty steel plate. As with everything on these old boats, if it hasn't been removed before it lots of fun getting the screws out.

Rob

[Marty McOmber]

Thanks Rob.  I have the same thing. I hoping to get a sense of how that resin block was built.  Did it include any fiberglass matt? Or steel?  Or are we just dealing with solid resin?

I know that there was a plywood form that in front of that block (and I assume another behind it). That isn't structural. 

Thanks!

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[John Baudendistel]

Hi there. Many 40 owners have pulled the stick and redone the step. Check with Craig on Mojo. He did a full rebuild as did Don Fife I believe.

John
Dream keeper
P42

John Baudendistel
Jo...@ets247.com


> On Feb 19, 2015, at 12:37 PM, Marty McOmber <ma...@threesheetsnw.com> wrote:
>
> anyone

[Rob Raymond]

There is nothing but resin in the block, I drilled a small test hole to be sure. It would appear a plywood form was built in the keel, and the resin poured in.

When I re-did the mast base I did 2 wraps of mat and roving over the block before setting the base on top to give it more strength.

On Thursday, 19 February 2015 10:05:40 UTC-8, Marty McOmber wrote:

[Craig Newton]

Mujo's mast sits on an aluminum flanged 'plug' that is bolted to a steel plate that has a built up step at the forward end for the cabin top hold down rod. The plate in turn is bolted to an athwartship 'bridge' under it. The 'bridge' is non-metallic but I can't offer more than that. The 'plug' was in good shape. I just grit blasted it and had it re-coated. I replaced the badly deteriorated steel plate with a stainless steel plate. The plate is bolted to the 'bridge' under the step. A thin sheet of micarta lays on top of the SS plate to separate the two metals. Don't forget the bolts when you put everything back together. Very important. Also important, don't forget to place a coin under the mast before you step it. One more thing, provide a drain hole so that any water that gets inside the mast has a way to drain out and won't accumulate over time.
HTH
- Craig