mast repair, hull deck joint and boom kicker

[mikestevens]

It has been a while since I last posted. I am the person who was looking for mast splicing info. in short, the outcome is as follows;
I did find someone else who had a bent mast in MI who I am hoping will sell me his old mast for splicing. It has been really hard to find an old offshore 6040 spar. A lot of close but no cigars. I also plan to have it professionally done. We spoke a lot about tapped screws in this forum, but I have seen plug welded splices on new masts (for the new Navy 44's) In one instance the suggested direction was to use rivets, and in another it was the plug welding? Any thoughts on those solutions?

while I am sorting out the rig issue, I have begun to fix some pesky deck issues, not the least of which is a leak that originates at the hull deck joint and comes into my electrical panel and ends up collecting in my battery box. I have removed the toe rail and the rub rail to expose the deck hull joint.
I have found an area that I think was repaired before and corresponds to the leak streaks inside the boat. there is a section in which the bedding compound between the hull and the deck seems to be not cured. I can rub it and it will smear in between my fingers. A small area (less than 1/4" in of the core in the deck is rotted out. It does happen to be near the diesel fill tube. Perhaps the compound used is degraded by spillage?
Should I use thickened epoxy or 5200, or something else here?

Also I have drilled out the holes in the deck (mostly under the jib track) and have removed the bad core. On a few of the holes the bad core went back about 1.5", for a total of 3" or so. Can I use thickened epoxy here, or should I cut out the area from below and replace the core? I hate to do this because it means taking out the fabric in the quarter berth.

Lastly, I have a rigid boom vang on my boat. If I remember correctly, these caused booms to break in a bad seaway on a particular Bermuda trip. I have seen images of the "boomkicker". this seems to be a much more boom friendly device. any imput?.

[kristian]

For help on the hull/deck joint you might try
http://plasticclassicforum.com/
as these guys have discussed that particular issue at great length.

Why would a rigid vang break a boom? I see no inherent danger in them, but like anything if used improperly...

I always think of boomkickers as a rigid vang on the cheap (and light I suppose.) There's nothing in them that is easier/safer for gear. In fact for cruising I'd be a little worried about the boomkickers limited travel; when you ease them too far out the boomkickers fiberglass rods fall out of the bracket on the boom, and have to be reinserted before it'll function again.

Under what conditions were these booms broken?

[Brian Duff]

mast splicing

the direction to take for a mast splice job depends on the particulars of the mast (how conduits are in, anodized or painted, shape of section, etc) and the $$$ to be spent.

New spars are sold with butt welded seams, or sleeved and then plug and butt welded seams, or sleeved and riveted seams, or sleeved and screwed seams- depends on the builder. We have made them or assembled them by each way, and find screws the fastest and easiest (meaning lowest cost)

when building new in a shop welding can make sense, but for a repair in the field it doesn't.

a good rig shop will be able to advise you on the best way to go with your rig, and will be equipped to carryout the repair by any means imaginable.


if you tell us more about your spar and the set up of it, we can be of more assistance.

[Brion Toss]

Hello,
First, Boomkicker now offers a nice optional track fitting for the boom fitting. It allows for easy adjustment of intersection location, and prevents the falling-out problem.
Other than that, yeah, screws are almost certainly your optimal choice in the field.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss