Yesterday my 26X broke it's mast just off Salcombe Devon in fairly light winds. It is now laid out on my car park. Apparently this is not uncommon and broke at the spreader point where the large bolt goes through. I now have to think if this can be repaired with a sleeve or replaced altogether.
Any comments about this would be useful. Has this happened to anyone else in the UK and if so what did you do? It looks difficult to match the mast. I am fairly practical and can put stuff together so buying a new mast would not be a problem but searches result in riggers who want the work. Has anyone bought just a mast?
Hope someone can shred some light!
Regards
Hi Bill
You can get a new mast from bwyachts.com in USA, but it's an expensive option by the time you've added shipping. It comes as a plain extrusion, they will drill it etc. at extra cost.
There are some UK owners who have fitted a Z-spars mast, there is one model that's a pretty good substitution. I've seen one fitted but I'm not sure where you'd get one though. You'd probably need a new foot plate, or have to modify the existing one, and likely need to replace the standing rigging if the lengths are different.
Hopefully some other members will have more tips. Good luck!
Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight
Thanks Rick. That's a start. Will check out the USA option. I have a son who lives over there. He was steering when it happened!
Useful having a son in USA, but could be tricky bringing a mast in luggage allowance!
Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight
Bill,
No idea about the supply of a replacement but if you wanted to repair I might have some thoughts even if just as a temporary until a new mast arrives. I've repaired a couple of booms before (great fun in a f7!).
Has it torn cleanly or has it folded up?
Is there any corrosion at the point of failure?
Any sign of pre-existing dents or other damage?
Any modifications from original?
Did any of the standing rigging fail (first or after the mast)?
Pictures of the damage would help.
Obviously it has broken at the highest stress/weakest point. The danger with sleeving it is just moving the stress point to the end of the sleeve and causing it to fail there. A problem with extruded aluminium spars it they are enormously strong for UDLs (uniformly distributed loads) but struggle with local buckling and the moment you start drilling holes to attach things an alarming proportion of the strength goes.
Most fittings and stress points need doublers to spread the load. Lots of small rivets are generally better than one big bolt for attachment points.
If you need any parts machining I can help.
Dave.
Dave Newton Sailbadthesinner
Hi Dave.
Thanks for your comments and apologies for delayed reply.
Yes it was torn cleanly and not folded. I can't see any corrosion. No modifications as far as I know. Rigging did not fail but I think I may not have tighten it enough.
Thanks for comments about repairs. The base plate is badly bent and I think this may have to be replaced. Waiting for prices on replacement mast. I am sure you are right about small rivets better than one big bolt. The bolt on the spreader fitting seems massive and the mast sheared just at this point. This has happened to other Mac's so obviously a weakness.
Bill
Hi Bill,
Sorry to hear about your broken mast. Would this be covered as a peril under your insurance policy?
If not 2 years ago I replaced a broken mast on a 26X I bought as a project. The mast option from the USA was prohibitive cost wise, so I sourced off ebay a similar sized mast. I then got a local engineer to marry across the fittings from the broken mast, about 6 inches was taken off the foot of the mast and it fitted a treat and was fully functional. The Mac26X is no longer with me and is moored on Windermere. The replacement mast was more sturdy than the Mac mast and was I obtained for £20. I recall the cost to marry the old mast part across was circa £160. Hope this gives you food for thought. Regards Mark
Thanks for your comments Mark.
The only thing of concern is the weight. As you probably know the boat is very tender and leans over a lot so don't want to make this worse. However your solution may be OK, I will keep a look out.
Anyway still getting prices for replacement mast
Bill
We have a Z-Spar mast fitted because the original owners broke the Mac one. It works fine but some things to note:
1. Its heavier that the original so not easy to do on your own I like to have three people around for the critical few minutes just around the 45 degree point
2. it does need a base plate adaption - mine is not entirely successful so would advise getting a professional to look at it.
3. It doesn't have a cleat for the mast lifter so I just usually lift by a rope above the spreaders with a large bowline loop so when the mast is up you can reach the bowline and untie it. (I've never got round to fitting one)
4. it doesn't rotate (but not sure of this makes a difference)
5. The Mac leading edge rope (luff) doesn't go into the guide on the mast which is too small. The yard that fitted it just took the guide off and it works fine but I guess it should be fitted with a proper one (another job on the list)
hope this helps
Rod
Hi , the mast tensions are quite critical. The forestay is under a lot of tension,to prevent mast whip.
The tensions are given in the owners manual.
I don't know if the 26x has the same mast base as the 26M but on our 26M we modified the base by adding a small ball bearing thrust bearing instead of the washers to enable the mast to swivel smoothly - made a big difference to the smooth operation and prevents the sudden bang that used to occur when it rotated after going about. A rotating mast improves the sail set especially if you have a bolt rope rather than slides on the mast track. We used a high quality SKF stainless ball race the same thickness as the washers to avoid needing to change the rigging tension took about an hour to fit including lowering and raising the mast. (SKF51101 12x26x9mm £12 from bearing station online shop)
Mike C Tarka 26m