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Repairing a broken mast on an F30
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2021 5:22 pm
by SVBAGATELLE
I have successfully completed the repair of Bagatelle's mast. With the advice of Eric Sponberg I created a carbon sleeve to go inside the mast pieces at the break, and glued them together using West 610 epoxy. Then I scarfed the joint and laminated more carbon over it. The repair was finished by a fibreglass specialist and there is nothing that shows a repair was done. The total out-of-pocket cost was about $1000 for carbon cloth (unidirectional and biaxial) and epoxy (West Proset and 610 adhesive), and $600 for help in making the sleeve and finishing the mast. I also paid $1100 for a TidesMarine mast track since my old one was partially destroyed. Of course I have not accounted for many hours of my own time nor the cost of travel.
I attach a broad brush description of the process, prepared for my Niagara on the Lake Sailing Club. Contact me if you would like further details.
Re: Repairing a broken mast on an F30
Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2021 3:20 am
by newt2u
A good job SVBagatelle, I'm sure the mast is now strongest at the repair site. I have done similar repairs, albeit on a much smaller scale to model glider fuselages, where the spar/boom has broken on impromptu landings, in one case on a tapered boom. In that repair I had to make a tube of the maximum diameter and cut out a v-shape to achieve the taper. Although the layup appears brittle, it is very strong and can be moulded with a little heat. And yes the most difficult part is removing the layup from the former
Hope you get back on the water soon.
Re: Repairing a broken mast on an F30
Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2021 6:26 am
by walterg
Great job and writeup - congratulations to you for the determination and resourcefulness to save her, and kudos to Mr. Sponberg for his support!
Re: Repairing a broken mast on an F30
Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2021 2:22 pm
by Tricia
Good to hear Bagatelle is back in fine form, Paul. What a project! Do you feel the Strong Track was a worthwhile investment?
Re: Repairing a broken mast on an F30
Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2021 6:07 pm
by SVBAGATELLE
Tricia
I think Strong Track is made by some one else. I am happy with the Tides Marine track (and thanks to Paul Dennis of Warren River Boatworks for suggesting it). I had to replace several feet of track and the only place I could find that could supply an exact match wanted to sell me a 10 foot length that cost more than I paid for the new track!
Tides Marine makes a solid product and its customer service is excellent. Raising and lowering the main is much easier than before. The new track fits in the old but doesn't need much support at the bottom so the missing track is no problem.
Thanks again for everyone's help--yours included Tricia!
Paul
Re: Repairing a broken mast on an F30
Posted: Fri Mar 12, 2021 12:16 am
by ewsponberg
I was quite happy to give Paul the support he needed. Just to clarify, the Strong Track and the Tides Marine track are one and the same. Tides Marine is owned by my good friend Jeff Strong, for whom I have done a lot of consulting engineering in the past. We have a Tides Marine track on Corroboree's mast which slides over its original stainless steel T-track.
Good luck to Paul and we hope you have many good sailing days ahead.
By the way, my wife and I are in Australia at the moment, having been "stranded" here an extra year (two years total) by the COVID pandemic. We expect to be leaving Townsville, Queensland, in May 2021 to head north to the Torres Strait, then turn left for Darwin and the Indian Ocean. We hope to stop at Christmas and Cocos-Keeling Islands, Chagos in the BIOT, and then the Seychelles by the end of the northern summer. From there, we'll head to South Africa, hoping to reach Cape Town by November some time.
Re: Repairing a broken mast on an F30
Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:49 pm
by unfetteredalexandria
Thanks for sharing the story, including many details that will not doubt inform others' endeavors to keep these wonderful old boats sailing on! Our community is so lucky that treasures like Eric Sponberg and Paul Dennis maintain an interest and willingness to help!
Re: Repairing a broken mast on an F30
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 5:54 pm
by mike cunningham
ewsponberg wrote: ↑Fri Mar 12, 2021 12:16 am
I was quite happy to give Paul the support he needed. Just to clarify, the Strong Track and the Tides Marine track are one and the same. Tides Marine is owned by my good friend Jeff Strong, for whom I have done a lot of consulting engineering in the past. We have a Tides Marine track on Corroboree's mast which slides over its original stainless steel T-track.
Good luck to Paul and we hope you have many good sailing days ahead.
By the way, my wife and I are in Australia at the moment, having been "stranded" here an extra year (two years total) by the COVID pandemic. We expect to be leaving Townsville, Queensland, in May 2021 to head north to the Torres Strait, then turn left for Darwin and the Indian Ocean. We hope to stop at Christmas and Cocos-Keeling Islands, Chagos in the BIOT, and then the Seychelles by the end of the northern summer. From there, we'll head to South Africa, hoping to reach Cape Town by November some time.
Eric, when you get to Seychelles head over to the Seychelles yacht club. There is a plaque over the bar with my name on it as a founding member. Actually my father, who was a captain of a merchant ship which broke down in Port Victoria in 1969 , made a founders donation to the club and had them include my name as well as an accompanying life membership. Coincidentally I spent ten years working there at the usaf tracking station which closed in 1996.
What does this have to do with Freedoms? Well. I imported a Freedom 25 from South Africa in 1986. She was equipped with a USA built carbon wingmast which was broken by a subsequent owner. He replaced it with a round section which we all know and love.
"Freedom" still lies Port Victoria to this day. Small world.
Paradise Regained.pdf