Thanks all for the kind words on the blog and detail. Just paying back and forward help I received from those on this list.
@brad When my rig is set up tight my shrouds don't flop, but I don't think I'd worry quite yet, not officially anyway. If my rig is set up not tight enough, it does what you describe. Seems good at the dock but isn't. (check the gauge and your methodology. much cheaper!) if your bilge sump is dry and your keel does not leak water through the smile after haul out, the filled part of the keel box is probably dry - the smile does not admit water. if you want to be really sure, bore a small hole at the front of the keel. I wouldnt bother though. The small stress cracks on the hull could be (and probably are) nothing. (I will post some more repair photos on this subject shortly) A small smile, same. I think nick mentioned these as telltale signs of a hard grounding, which might fracture the putty core of the keel stub or otherwise compromise the ability of the keel structure to withstand mast/bolt compression. I would definitely try torquing the keel bolts and see if they hold the torque. This is probably the most reliable sign of the sinking mast step if I correctly understand what's going on. This is in effect what Doug A told me he missed when he did his first repair, and I think its the real "smoking gun". I did not check this on mine unfortunately, I just went ahead and fixed it. If you trust your gauge, and your rig loses tension under load then regains it, that does not sound liike a settling mast step, which does not bounce back if I understand correctly. It sounds like something is not as stiff as it should be. :-( I might check the amidships bulkhead tabbing in the hanging locker and between the head and settee, and check the main beam that spans the hull in line with the shrouds. Look for fractures where it joins the keel stub box. This would be an area of stress concentration. Because my rig was holding tension, I deduced that my mast step was not sinking, and that I could have gotten away with draining then rebedding the keel, and adding adequate support for the step and bolts. This is what I would have done had I not been able to do the "big job" myself. If things aren't really dire a 1/2" AL plate bedded in epoxy would probably do the job of spreading the keelbolt/maststep load. I would certain add that on keel bolt #2 regardless - the washers are a joke. (mine had visibly compressed the fibreglass) Doug A did a beautiful job on his 35iii mast step. the 33 does not have the space for his approach however. Contradictions, corrections, alternate views welcome and encouraged. Tx. Dave From: Bradley Lumgair <lumg...@hotmail.com> To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Stus-List Windstar II Mast Step Repair Message-ID: <snt405-eas30ee9cf7442f4a6f819e5aa6...@phx.gbl> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Quite a thorough blog, and really appreciate the pictures, makes it all seem do-able. Thanks for having the forethought to document the process. I'm now officially worried! I have issues with the leeward shrouds going slack (very) in anything 10+ knots. I've checked tension (Loos Gauge) at the dock several times and they are always the same. It scares me to see them flopping about. I haven't checked torque on the keel bolts and I don't have a big "C&C smile" almost invisible in fact. I do see some very fine lines at the hull to keel pit joint towards the stern. Could this just be hull flex? Or symptoms of a soft mast step? I guess I should talk to the marine repair guys and have them take a look. Thanks for the Blog Brad 1985 C&C 33 MK II "PULSE" Sent, miraculously through cyberspace,
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