Mast repairs
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Brian M. Godfrey
Feb 20, 2024, 1:11:53 PM2/20/24
to INA-Nonsuch-Di...@googlegroups.com
Some of you may recall when Bob noticed a crack in a photo of my
fairlead collar. That was almost a year ago, I think. I talked to
Mike Quill about it and he said it would be OK to sail it like that
for a while as long as I didn't push the rig hard. So I've been
raising the sail just until I saw the tack shackle start to lift and
stopping there. That left the luff a bit loose and I've been happy
that the boat actually sailed pretty nicely even like that.
I bought a new fairlead collar and in December I started to replace it, only to find some corrosion beneath the tack collar. There were a few paint bubbles visible with the collar on, but it didn't look bad at all until I removed that collar. After extensive consultations with Mike and with Klacko Spars, it turned out that the corrosion was well within limits. (The wall thickness of the mast is 1/4" in this area and the corrosion was mostly just superficial.) So Mike advised me on the repairs.
I first sandblasted the corrosion and then treated it with a chemical from Star Brite. (Sorry, I forgot the name.) Then I primed with an aluminum primer, an epoxy primer and painted with two-part polyurethane - all from Interlux. I put the old tack collar back on with new neoprene beneath it, installed the new fairlead collar with a dab of Sikaflex on the "ears" to prevent twisting, and put on some new mast bands with neoprene beneath them.
I did all of this with the mast up, so didn't paint anything above about 7' off the deck. But that lower 7' looks pretty good now. :-)
Yesterday morning a friend and I put the sail back on and took it out for a trial. I raised the sail all the way up and tightened the luff. It was a breezy day and we hit 8kts (GPS) within a few minutes of raising the sail. That's a full knot more than the best I've ever been able to manage. I de-powered a bit because my friend's wife's eyes were getting too big, but we sailed for a few hours, rarely getting below 6.5kts. It was a very brisk and enjoyable sensation for a change, rather than worrying about the cracked fairlead collar. I'm not a racer, but the improved performance tells me that the boat can now sail correctly.
Then I had to dock the giant windvane in my downwind slip in all that wind. I didn't hit or damage anything, but it took two tries and was not one of my finest moments. I am moving to an upwind slip on March 2nd. Hopefully that will be better.
The tack collar had a rotted and crumbling piece of red rubber of some sort beneath it when I took it off. According to Klacko, this allowed salt water to get down in there and led to the hidden corrosion, made worse by the galvanic reaction between the aluminum and the stainless. I used neoprene when I put the collar back on. (Solid sheet, not foam.) The collar fits tight and this should keep salt water out from between it and the mast. It will also protect the paint and keep the two metals apart - as long as it is in good condition. I intend to remove the tack collar occasionally, clean out any salt that manages to get in there and replace with fresh neoprene.
This has been grueling and a bit scary until I understood everything. I'm sure the old timers here know it, but for everyone else: keep a close eye on the various bands and collars that wrap around your mast. If you see even the tiniest bubble of corrosion around an edge, or if the padding beneath the collar looks dried out or worn, take it seriously. I caught mine before the damage was too serious, but during one of our consultations, Mike Quill sent me a photo of a mast that broke off due to corrosion beneath the tack collar.
I bought a new fairlead collar and in December I started to replace it, only to find some corrosion beneath the tack collar. There were a few paint bubbles visible with the collar on, but it didn't look bad at all until I removed that collar. After extensive consultations with Mike and with Klacko Spars, it turned out that the corrosion was well within limits. (The wall thickness of the mast is 1/4" in this area and the corrosion was mostly just superficial.) So Mike advised me on the repairs.
I first sandblasted the corrosion and then treated it with a chemical from Star Brite. (Sorry, I forgot the name.) Then I primed with an aluminum primer, an epoxy primer and painted with two-part polyurethane - all from Interlux. I put the old tack collar back on with new neoprene beneath it, installed the new fairlead collar with a dab of Sikaflex on the "ears" to prevent twisting, and put on some new mast bands with neoprene beneath them.
I did all of this with the mast up, so didn't paint anything above about 7' off the deck. But that lower 7' looks pretty good now. :-)
Yesterday morning a friend and I put the sail back on and took it out for a trial. I raised the sail all the way up and tightened the luff. It was a breezy day and we hit 8kts (GPS) within a few minutes of raising the sail. That's a full knot more than the best I've ever been able to manage. I de-powered a bit because my friend's wife's eyes were getting too big, but we sailed for a few hours, rarely getting below 6.5kts. It was a very brisk and enjoyable sensation for a change, rather than worrying about the cracked fairlead collar. I'm not a racer, but the improved performance tells me that the boat can now sail correctly.
Then I had to dock the giant windvane in my downwind slip in all that wind. I didn't hit or damage anything, but it took two tries and was not one of my finest moments. I am moving to an upwind slip on March 2nd. Hopefully that will be better.
The tack collar had a rotted and crumbling piece of red rubber of some sort beneath it when I took it off. According to Klacko, this allowed salt water to get down in there and led to the hidden corrosion, made worse by the galvanic reaction between the aluminum and the stainless. I used neoprene when I put the collar back on. (Solid sheet, not foam.) The collar fits tight and this should keep salt water out from between it and the mast. It will also protect the paint and keep the two metals apart - as long as it is in good condition. I intend to remove the tack collar occasionally, clean out any salt that manages to get in there and replace with fresh neoprene.
This has been grueling and a bit scary until I understood everything. I'm sure the old timers here know it, but for everyone else: keep a close eye on the various bands and collars that wrap around your mast. If you see even the tiniest bubble of corrosion around an edge, or if the padding beneath the collar looks dried out or worn, take it seriously. I caught mine before the damage was too serious, but during one of our consultations, Mike Quill sent me a photo of a mast that broke off due to corrosion beneath the tack collar.
Joe Valinoti
Feb 20, 2024, 2:41:48 PM2/20/24
to INA-Nonsuch-Di...@googlegroups.com
I assume that you also used Tef-Gel or other product on all
the stainless steel screw/bolts, Brian??
Joe
Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
~~~~~(\_ ~(\_ ~(\_~~~~~~~~~~
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Brian Godfrey
Feb 20, 2024, 2:54:55 PM2/20/24
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No stainless bolts were threaded into aluminum.
Brian
Brian
On February 20, 2024 7:41:40 PM UTC, Joe Valinoti <joes...@gmail.com> wrote:
--I assume that you also used Tef-Gel or other product on all the stainless steel screw/bolts, Brian??Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
~~~~~(\_ ~(\_ ~(\_~~~~~~~~~~Some of you may recall when Bob noticed a crack in a photo of my fairlead collar. That was almost a year ago, I think. I talked to Mike Quill about it and he said it would be OK to sail it like that for a while as long as I didn't push the rig hard. So I've been raising the sail just until I saw the tack shackle start to lift and stopping there. That left the luff a bit loose and I've been happy that the boat actually sailed pretty nicely even like that.
I bought a new fairlead collar and in December I started to replace it, only to find some corrosion beneath the tack collar. There were a few paint bubbles visible with the collar on, but it didn't look bad at all until I removed that collar. After extensive consultations with Mike and with Klacko Spars, it turned out that the corrosion was well within limits. (The wall thickness of the mast is 1/4" in this area and the corrosion was mostly just superficial.) So Mike advised me on the repairs.
I first sandblasted the corrosion and then treated it with a chemical from Star Brite. (Sorry, I forgot the name.) Then I primed with an aluminum primer, an epoxy primer and painted with two-part polyurethane - all from Interlux. I put the old tack collar back on with new neoprene beneath it, installed the new fairlead collar with a dab of Sikaflex on the "ears" to prevent twisting, and put on some new mast bands with neoprene beneath them.
I did all of this with the mast up, so didn't paint anything above about 7' off the deck. But that lower 7' looks pretty good now. :-)
Yesterday morning a friend and I put the sail back on and took it out for a trial. I raised the sail all the way up and tightened the luff. It was a breezy day and we hit 8kts (GPS) within a few minutes of raising the sail. That's a full knot more than the best I've ever been able to manage. I de-powered a bit because my friend's wife's eyes were getting too big, but we sailed for a few hours, rarely getting below 6.5kts. It was a very brisk and enjoyable sensation for a change, rather than worrying about the cracked fairlead collar. I'm not a racer, but the improved performance tells me that the boat can now sail correctly.
Then I had to dock the giant windvane in my downwind slip in all that wind. I didn't hit or damage anything, but it took two tries and was not one of my finest moments. I am moving to an upwind slip on March 2nd. Hopefully that will be better.
The tack collar had a rotted and crumbling piece of red rubber of some sort beneath it when I took it off. According to Klacko, this allowed salt water to get down in there and led to the hidden corrosion, made worse by the galvanic reaction between the aluminum and the stainless. I used neoprene when I put the collar back on. (Solid sheet, not foam.) The collar fits tight and this should keep salt water out from between it and the mast. It will also protect the paint and keep the two metals apart - as long as it is in good condition. I intend to remove the tack collar occasionally, clean out any salt that manages to get in there and replace with fresh neoprene.
This has been grueling and a bit scary until I understood everything. I'm sure the old timers here know it, but for everyone else: keep a close eye on the various bands and collars that wrap around your mast. If you see even the tiniest bubble of corrosion around an edge, or if the padding beneath the collar looks dried out or worn, take it seriously. I caught mine before the damage was too serious, but during one of our consultations, Mike Quill sent me a photo of a mast that broke off due to corrosion beneath the tack collar.
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "INA Nonsuch Discussion Group" group.
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-- Brian Godfrey
Bob Neches (Me Gusta, Nonsuch 26U #233)
Feb 20, 2024, 3:16:23 PM2/20/24
to INA Nonsuch Discussion Group
Brian,
I'm really impressed with the work you've been doing on your boat, and glad to hear that it's coming together so well.
I'm glad you can move to an upwind slip. I sail regularly on my friend Phil's N36 in a downwind slip, and a lot relies on me getting off quickly and wrapping a line around a dock cleat before the bow meets the dock. One of the things I like about owning a N26 is that it's the largest boat I can still usually outmuscle (I'm blessed with a crosswind slip myself).
I hope you'll consider writing up your experience with the mast collar as an article for the INA Update and the www.Nonsuch.org website's Members Tips and Projects. This is very important stuff to keep around, and stuff just in the discussion group alone gets buried as new posts pile up.
-- Bob
Me Gusta
Nonsuch e26U #233
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