Bend in aluminum mast

[tomfrenock]

I am looking at a Sam L Morse Falmouth Cutter in Sidney, and it appears to have an aftward bend in its mast just above the middle shroud attachment. There are no visible kinks, but there are several flaws in the paint on the main-track area at the point of the bend. My best guess is that something fell onto it while the boat was de-masted for storage or trailering. The amount of bend is hard to estimate, but it us probably about an inch or so of aft deflection at the mast head, which is about ... maybe 8 ft above the bend. I checked the tension on the fore and aft stays, but neither seemed to be overly taught.

My guess is that the main will not be affected much when raising or lowering the sail, but I don't like the fact that such a stout mast was bent. Is this kind of thing repairable, and if so, what should I expect to pay for it? The rest of the rigging looked pretty good visually, but I know that the current owner hit something bringing it from port McNeil to Sidney. This damage required replacing one of the shrouds, and I have no idea if the mast bend could have happened at the same time. The broker will not tell me what happened, such as hitting a bridge or what.

Does anyone have a suggestion? I would appreciate any of your inputs.

[Neptunes Violin]

Is she equipped with running backstays? Did you ease the inner forestay?

[Brian Duff]

What you describe is likely very insignificant Pre_Bend.

The mast will probably need more prebend to keep the mast from pumping when not in use.

take a photo

[tomfrenock]

Thanks for the replies. I am a perspective buyer, and it is still premature for me to play with the rigging. My concern was whether this bend sounds like a consideration with respect to an offer. If insignificant, then no problem. I will take a photo next time I see her. I also plan to loosen the stays and shrouds to see what natural shape the mast takes. Thanks.

[capn tom]

I have a forward bow in my mast and I think I must take the roller furling apart and see if the forestay is too tight. I have been able to get the the bow out with a ridiculously overtightened lower forward shroud tension.
I need advice!!!! Thanks

[Brian Duff]

What kind of boat, Capt Tom?

[capn tom]

Hey Brian,
I have an Irwin 33. The previous owner had the furling system installed.
The forward bend was not there when I bought the boat, but had noticed that the mast support had been replaced by a metal post.
I suspected that there was a tuning issue involved so I re-tuned the mast according to Brion's video. Let me also add while I'm thinking about it....the mast is inline with the c'line of the boat but it is rotated slightly in a counterclockwise direction?
After the mast was tuned to specs the forward bow appeared which makes me suspect the forestay tension. Any advice? Thanks, Tom

[CJV]

If the paint has failed in the affected area, and there's visible bend, it's not meant to be there... is it too early in the process for a survey?