Loose Mast on F40/40 caused by poor lay-up of mast base

[DaysailorJ]

Just an update my note at the bottom, that I had buried in another mast topic:

This weekend, I ripped the old mast step box out with a Saws-All, and what I found was that the plywood core at the bottom of the box had rotted (it sat in the bilge for 15 years-duhh!!!), allowing the studs holding the aluminum mast plate to loosen, which eventually led to the mast loosening. I am getting a new base laminated in, and will be welding new flanges onto the cast aluminum mast step, where the studs had torn through the slotted bolt-holes. If you have the aluminum mast step configuration, I strongly suggest that you periodically check the four studs for looseness, especially if you have the mast out. I think the plywood core in the laminate mast base is a dangerous design flaw for an unstayed mast.


(From earlier note:)
I have had an ongoing battle with mast movement on my '95 F40/40. It first began to move fore and aft about 3/4" following a day of pounding into stormy weather off Cape May two years ago. We saw that the cast mast-step fixture seemed to be knocking around within the fiberglass box that it was bolted on, so we jury-rigged a fix with 2"x6" wood blocks pounded into the box, on four sides of the mast. Back in port, we tightened down the nuts that hold down the adjustable plate within the box, and epoxied the nuts in place. This seemed to keep the movement down to about credit card thickness, but it did not turn out to be a lasting solution.

During the trip back North, "Elizabeth" hit gale strength weather in north Florida, and the heavy seas again loosened the mast, but this time almost catastrophically. There was now enough movement to impact the boat's safety, and the bare mast was secured with blocks (and later a fabricated hardwood set of circular wedges) and temporary stays and shrouds, made up of halyards and other lines. This rig allowed careful motoring back up to Rhode Island, where the boat and mast were pulled.

We have now cut away the floor from the forward head, and one of the bulkheads. The mast step casting is "FUBAR" with serious elongation and cracking at the bolt holes. On closer examination, the mast step box has actually torn loose from the hull, indicating that it was not properly bonded to the hull and the adjacent bulkhead during production. I suggest that anyone experiencing mast movement watch for signs of looseness in this area--I hope it was just a bad day at the Freedom factory. Paul Dennis had never seen this on any Freedom before, as the factory build process called for this box to be integral to the hull. We are now in the breathtakingly expensive process of completely reconstructing this mast base, and will make very sure that the mast will never move again. A new box will be laminated to the hull and bulkhead, and a new (or if available, a Freedom OEM) plate will be secured onto it (with no adjustment feature this time). I'll try to get some pictures in here when available.

As an added note, I am also looking at shortening the mast (and mainsail head to match it) to around 61" above the water line, so I can access the ICW in the future.

John

[Michel]

Thanks for your warning. My mastbase collar was replaced when the mast was replaced in 2000. I have eight bolts holding the collar onto the platform. As far as I know the platform does not contain plywood but is a solid 1" laminate of a brown fiber and resin. Incredible how many variations there are for the mast base and collar assembly.

[DaysailorJ]

You're very welcome, Michel. If the eight bolts are still tight on your mast platform after so many years, I doubt if they uesd any plywood. Paul Dennis was probably still at Freedom when your boat was laid up, and I don't think they would have gotten away with that kind of sloppiness with him there...

[GeoffSchultz]

What hull number do you have?

-- Geoff

[DaysailorJ]

I have number 7 (full hull number is FYC0007B495)