Posted by mackinaw10 (mackinaw10@…>)
I’m in the process of deciding whether to buy a hulk of the above.
Iknow what I’m getting into in all areas except the mast as I have
little experience with carbon fiber. THe mast is black and has spiral
cracks going around the mast from truck to tip. They look like surface
cracks (probably the paint?). What does the group think. whats the
history of this boats mast breaking?
Roger
Posted by Medium Al (hjulbyhavn@…>)
Paint cracks are normal and the order of the day for a mast this age.
If they are consistent and very fine they are probably just that, but
if they do not follow a regular circular pattern you should investigate
further. People have started painting the masts, I haven’t done so.
Many of us have had the sail-track and boom gooseneck rivets come
loose, check this too before heading out in the big stuff.As said even
the boom gooseneck is riveted on. The fix is easy but make sure the
rivets are long enough to expand inside the mast before they make
contact, and fill the holes with epoxy to eliminate play.
Walk barefoot on the balsa cored deck to feel if it is soft. A dry deck
is rock hard so it seems soft have it checked.
Also check the pockets for the battens. If the battens were allowed to
be loose the pockets may need repair. The original sails may be just
fine and have years left in them although they will be a little too
full to give peak performance to windward.
The rest is like any other boat.
Posted by Herman and Gail Schiller (hschiller2@…>)
Roger,
What’s the history of this mast? Might it have been zapped
by lightning? If so, give it up. Herm
At 05:49 PM 6/1/2007, mackinaw10 wrote:
I’m in the process of deciding whether to buy a hulk of the above.
Iknow what I’m getting into in all areas except the mast as I have
little experience with carbon fiber. THe mast is black and has spiral
cracks going around the mast from truck to tip. They look like surface
cracks (probably the paint?). What does the group think. whats the
history of this boats mast breaking?Roger
Posted by lance_ryley (lance_ryley@…>)
Hi Roger,
if this is the round-mast version, then the mast is similar in
construction to what they did with the 40s and a few other of the
vintage 80s boats. horizontal banding in these black masts is fairly
common, and is almost always cosmetic. What I’ve been told is that the
gelcoat they used didn’t have enough flex for the masts, ending up in a
surface that wasn’t as durable as the underlying structure. My F40 has
these bands, too, but surveys have shown no sign of delamination or
other issues of concern. In later masts, they went to an Awlgrip
coating that has more flexibility.
Eric Sponberg helped engineer the original masts. His opinion is that
these older black masts should be stripped of the outer gelcoat, re-
wound with another layer of glass, then faired and painted with
awlgrip. Unless you are extremely talented with a grinder, that’s a
professional job; however, in my opinion, there is no need - if the
mast passes basic sounding tests - to do that unless you don’t like
the ‘ugliness’ of the horizontal cracks. Vertical cracks, however,
should be an item of concern.
Lance
— In FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com, “mackinaw10”
<mackinaw10@…> wrote:
I’m in the process of deciding whether to buy a hulk of the above.
Iknow what I’m getting into in all areas except the mast as I have
little experience with carbon fiber. THe mast is black and has spiral
cracks going around the mast from truck to tip. They look like
surface
cracks (probably the paint?). What does the group think. whats the
history of this boats mast breaking?Roger
Posted by Roger Crawford (mackinaw10@…>)
Thanks, Lance. That’s what I was hoping to hear.
Roger
— lance_ryley <lance_ryley@…> wrote:
Hi Roger,
if this is the round-mast version, then the mast is
similar in
construction to what they did with the 40s and a few
other of the
vintage 80s boats. horizontal banding in these black
masts is fairly
common, and is almost always cosmetic. What I’ve
been told is that the
gelcoat they used didn’t have enough flex for the
masts, ending up in a
surface that wasn’t as durable as the underlying
structure. My F40 has
these bands, too, but surveys have shown no sign of
delamination or
other issues of concern. In later masts, they went
to an Awlgrip
coating that has more flexibility.Eric Sponberg helped engineer the original masts.
His opinion is that
these older black masts should be stripped of the
outer gelcoat, re-
wound with another layer of glass, then faired and
painted with
awlgrip. Unless you are extremely talented with a
grinder, that’s a
professional job; however, in my opinion, there is
no need - if the
mast passes basic sounding tests - to do that unless
you don’t like
the ‘ugliness’ of the horizontal cracks. Vertical
cracks, however,
should be an item of concern.Lance
— In FreedomOwnersGroup@yahoogroups.com,
“mackinaw10”
<mackinaw10@…> wrote:I’m in the process of deciding whether to buy a
hulk of the above.
Iknow what I’m getting into in all areas except
the mast as I have
little experience with carbon fiber. THe mast is
black and has spiral
cracks going around the mast from truck to tip.
They look like
surface
cracks (probably the paint?). What does the group
think. whats the
history of this boats mast breaking?Roger
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