DISASTER!

[shunt1]

This morning at 8:00 I got an emergency phone call from the lake telling me that the mast had fallen over and they were afraid that it was about to punch a hole in the side of the boat. Although the mast head was on the bottom of the lake and the mast base was hitting the side of the boat, it did not damage the hull. A crew was able to rescue the mast and I can never thank them enough.

When I left my home, it was raining but the winds were about 5 kts. Once I arrived at the lake (20 miles away) the winds were 50 kts with three foot waves. The mooring anchor had dragged over 300 feet and the boat was rather close to shore.

A crew had just returned from the boat and were able to drag the mast onto the beach when I arrived. All of the cables were still attached but they were forced to use bolt cutters on the lower port shroud to fee the mast.

For some reason, the mast step had failed and sheared off! The winds and waves made it too dangerous for me to inspect the bloat closely, so I will have to wait until tomarrow to identify what caused the failure.

To my amazement, the mast was not damaged and only one lower shroud cable must be replaced. Both of the spreaders were damaged. The starbord spreader base rod was sheared off and the port side had ripped the bolts out of the mast. Everything considered, these are rather minor repairs and I was darn lucky.

Since the mast step is missing, does anyone know how it was constructed internally? I suspect that it was made of wood under a fiberglass outer surface, but hopefully someone may know.

I guess it is time to install one of those fancy hinges on a new mast step, since I will be making a new one from the ground up.

Any hints on how to make new spreaders?

[mariner]

Wow, i'm sorry to hear that, de-masting is one of my worst fears! below are some sources for parts, I think i will be ordering new spreaders and bases from dwyermast for my refit....


http://www.boatdesigns.com/prodinfo.asp?number=13-034

http://www.rigrite.com/

http://www.dwyermast.com/default.asp

[Banshi]

The whole base sheared of ? I can't imagine what happened short of a knock down and roll in shallow water doing that kind of damage. My spreaders are aluminum tubing but the fitting and brackets are special made for this use. It really depends on what type of spreaders you have, ,mine have been replaced with the type A here http://www.dwyermast.com/items.asp?cat1 ... 28Round%29 . Glad no one was hurt and the damage appears to be far less than it could have been.

[shunt1]

I will get pictures of the damage and share them with my fellow Chrysler owners. The wind and waves made it impossible for me to row out to the boat in my inflatable dingy today, so I will have to wait until tomarrow.

I do not have a clue how the mast step could have sheared off like that. The crew that rescued the mast this morning said that all of the cables were still attached and they were having a difficult time freeing the mast. That is why they were forced to cut the lower shroud with bolt cutters to finally release it.

However, my mast step had previously been "repaired" by covering it with resin and they had used a dog bowl as a mold. Obviously, there was something wrong with that mast step before I purchased it, but that repair looked strong.

[EmergencyExit]

Ouch, so sorry. I think you have hit on your answer though. In the rough seas that "repair" might have given up esp if the repairing party didn't bond the "dog bowl" to the deck well. It left and rigging went limp and the mast fell.

I've seen EE's mighty thick bow-eye been broken in rough weather when she was tied to the dock via a line clipped to it. Lotsa force out there when a boat starts failing around.

[CaptainScott]

OMG!
Sorry to hear the story.
I'm very glad the failure occured with no one aboard. I hope the repairs are easy and inexpensive!!!!

Scott

[shunt1]

The mast was not bent, so the most expensive item will be a new hinge plate. New spreaders should not be that expensive to replace and the replacement shroud cable is about $2.00 per foot.

Thank GOD this disaster did not happen while under sail. My wife or I could have been killed!

I am still curious if anyone knows the internal construction of the mast step. Those who mounted a new hinge plate should have some idea of what was inside.

Here in Minnesota, I have done some ice Scuba diving and have all of my own equipment. Perhaps I will try finding those lost items on the lake bottom. However, with three foot visibility at that lake, I may never find the old mast step hook.

[sharps4590]

Wow shunt...glad it was no worse than it is, not that demasting is a good thing, and that no one was hurt. Hope ya get it all fixed up economically and quickly.

Vic

[tgentry]

No one was hurt and damage was minimal. I know it's hard to see it as a blessing right now, but you'll be back out there in no time.

[hp18carr]

In this instance the dog or at least the dog bowl was not man's best friend... good to hear no one got bitten.

Terrence
Wilmington N.C.
Chrysler 26 1980
Pandora (for now)

[Mario G]

Happy to hear the damage wasn't worse, I think I remember seeing pictures of your mast base and think it must have been from how it was repaired, larger screws could have split the wood. I'm sure it will be clear when you get to inspect it closer.

I would think the base is made up of hardwood incased in fiberglase and resin and secured from both top and botton with the stainless screws that hold the hook plate.

It must be your boat was demast at some prior time, if theres anything I can do to help, Pictures and mesurements or pieces of marine plywood from my parts boat just ask.

It seems the Starwind years they eliminated the base and mounted the hook plated to the deck.

Good luck I hope everything worksout well.

[shunt1]

I am not sure if this will work, but let me try a link to the pictures on my facebook account.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/alb ... 1091950090

[EmergencyExit]

Sometimes the php strings just don't translate as a hyperlink, but we can all copy between the and the, then paste into a browser.

If that piece of hollow PVC was all that was bearing the load of the mast, it (mast) could have punched down thru the repair during the rough seas.