Dealing with the mast

[Godot]

I had my mast pulled earlier this week as part of my Scoot refit and have a few issues I'd like to bang around.

First, the mast is bent.  Not kinked, or anything, it just has a noticeable curve above the spreaders.  As far as I can tell, it (surprisingly?) didn't seriously affect trim or handling.  In fact, I noticed it the first year I owned Godot, and then forgot about it.

Question: Should I be concerned?
Question: If so, should I try to bend it straight(er)?  I'm not sure where I'd go to do this; but perhaps I could to the maintenance manager at the marina for advice.
Question: Should I instead be thinking of REPLACING (ugh) it?  A new Dwyer mast and associated accessories would cost around $1600.  Plus tax.  Plus delivery.  Plus installation.  Plus who know what else.  I don't have that money at the moment.  But do I need to start saving up?

So, assuming that I can take care of (or ignore) that issue, issue number 2 is associated with wiring.  I don't have a wire channel in my mast and very badly want to keep the wires from slapping.  I've heard of using zip ties with the ends left on as a way to keep movement down.  Maybe 3 zip ties at three or four foot intervals?  Anyone ever tried this?  Would it be smart to run the wires through an old water hose or something? 

Also, how do you get the wires out of the mast and into the boat?  On Godot the steaming light and vhf coax wires went straight down the mast and into two small holes in the mast step and then next to the compression post.  I'm thinking it might be wiser to have them exit the mast a few inches up from the step and connect up to connectors outside the mast before heading through holes (maybe a pvc pipe or something) and into the boat.  I saw this on Auspicious' boat, and it seems to make sense from a maintenance and ease of stepping points of view.  Thoughts?

Next, I was surprised to find that the top of the mast is wide open and rain (and sun and leaves and bird droppings) can easily find its' way into the mast.  But I see no easy way for the water to find its' way OUT of the mast.  The previous owner had even gone so far as to caulk the base of the mast, which would just make things worse (I think he was trying to stop leaks ... bet it didn't work too well).  Would it be wise to put a notch or something in the base of the mast to let the water out?

Finally, I'm thinking about replacing the standing rigging.  It looks ok, and I didn't find any meat hooks or anything; but looking between the strands I see the occasional tiny spot of rust.  I'm leaning towards replacing them; but my budget is beginning to stretch a bit too much here.  Thoughts?

[AdriftAtSea]

YOu should probably have a waterproof terminal box for the wiring at the base of the mast.

As for replacing the mast... how old is it..and have you asked a rigger to take a look at it??  Photos?? Is the bend due to the rigging tension being set wrong??? Or is it set into the spar.

A standpipe with an inverted "U" on the top would work quite well too, but you'd want waterproof connectors on the ends of the cables. If you use one of these, don't make it out of PVC... it is too brittle IMHO for this purpose and likely to break if you hit it just right. :)  The best ones I've seen are made of stainless steel, but are rather pricey.

As for conduit for the mast, use a piece of light PVC pipe that is attached to the mast every three-to-four feet with pop rivets.

If the mast is deck-stepped, drill drain holes in the side, near the very bottom. 

Replacing the standing rigging isn't too difficult to do yourself and not too expensive if you do the work yourself. 

[Norm]

Mast bend, if fore and aft not thwartships is not undesirable.  Racing boat induce mast bend and sometimes have "prebend" tuned into the rig.

Replacing the standing rigging.  We did that on Averisera this winter for about $2K.  Money well spent.  Problem is SS corrosion occurs in the places you cannot inspect. 

Wiring conduit.  The wire-tie technique works but only for a few years.  A conduit can be made by running a highly tensioned  cable of SS wire to which a conduit or the electrical wires themselves have been attached inside the mast.  Put an eye at each end.  Secure the top to the mast head.  Lash the bottom near the mast base with many turns of light line.  This puts tension in the system.  A water hose conduit is quiet when the  thing moves a bit, which is inevitable. 

Wires from a deck stepped mast are a problem.  We struggle with them on Averisera.  Next winter's project is to work on this.  I plan to fit anti-chafe bushings in the mast-wire exit holes and figure out a way of getting the wires below deck without all the weaping we have now.  One idea we have heard of but not seen is to make one large hole, inch or so, lined with pvc tube, pass all the wires through the tube and fill the tube with sploog (4200 not silicone!).  Yeah... one big hole instead of three little ones?  Maybe.  Maybe not.

I'll be following you story.

[Godot]

The mast is, presumably, 34 years old and deck stepped.  The bend is unloaded (as in completely off the boat) and to the left, not fore and aft.  I have found no other damage to the mast, at all.  Not even any corrosion at the base where water must have been accumulating.  A rigger has not looked at the mast.  I'm a poor man and am trying to limit the use of contractors where possible. 

How do you attach pvc to the mast with pop rivets?  The pvc is on the inside of the mast, right?

[AdriftAtSea]

Yup.. drill holes through the aluminum and into the PVC.  Pop a rivet through, aluminum would be best, since it doesn't require a great amount of tensile strength...and aluminum rivets will minimize galvanic corrosion issues.

Can you straighten the bend out of the spar.  Might require some gentle persuasion. :)  We did this with  friend's mast on a slightly smaller boat, by filling it with sand and then gently applying pressure.

[CharlieJ]

If that mast isn't kinked, I'd leave it alone. The tension from the rig will pull out a gentle bend. Since it's above the spreaders, the lowers will hold it straight to that point,  then the uppers can be used to straighten the top.

Tehani's wooden mast has a twist in it when it's not on the boat- as soon as we tension the rig, the twist goes away. Gentle bends in masts will do the same. As easily as when you PUT a bend into one.

[Godot]

If that mast isn't kinked, I'd leave it alone. The tension from the rig will pull out a gentle bend. Since it's above the spreaders, the lowers will hold it straight to that point,  then the uppers can be used to straighten the top.

Tehani's wooden mast has a twist in it when it's not on the boat- as soon as we tension the rig, the twist goes away. Gentle bends in masts will do the same. As easily as when you PUT a bend into one.

Good thought; but I can't straighten it out.  I tried that when I first got the boat, and one of the upper shrouds was real tight and the other real loose and I still couldn't pull it straight (yes, I was tightening the correct shroud).

It does appear to sail fine, though. 

[Leroy - Gulf 29]

PVC conduit inside the mast.  Don Casey's "Good Old Boat" has an excellent example of how to accompish putting the PVC into the mast.

Related question though. - Would it be real stupid to put a small access hole, plate around the spreaders?  I've got spreader lights on the spreaders, and it would be real nice to be able to feed the wires from them down the conduit, as well as the steaming light (its a bit lower on the mast though).  Or do y'all have an easy method that I haven't figured out yet?

[Lynx]

My mast has a mast cap to keep all the stuff out. Might see what you can make. It would be nice if it had a point to keep the birds off.

Most times the standing rigging will corrode at the bottom in the fittings due to lack of air and salt water. Take some of the twist out of it and look inside. If there is rust, replace. Most often compression fittings are longer and if you get those you will not have to replace the wire. Quite often the top is good.

[Godot]

I finally had a couple of hours to do boat stuff so I messed around a bit with the mast.  The plan was/is to replace the standing rigging, running rigging, vhf antenna, and steaming light.  The concern is the curve to the mast.  Here's a couple of photos.  Let me know what you think...

(gawd, I hope I don't need a new mast)   >:(

[Auspicious]

Hi Adam,

Good advice above. Sorry about the bend in your mast - that kind of thing is distressing.

With respect to the electrical gooseneck, one of the nice things about that approach is that it reduces the amount of water that works its way into the boat. The junction box idea adds to the benefit, but you might as well put the box inside the boat. That does mean fishing the terminated ends a few inches after stepping the mast. No big deal for the straight electrical stuff. For the VHF, either fish the coax all the way to your radio or add proper terminations. BNCs would be better than UHF/PL-259 connectors. I can help you with that if you like.

[Lynx]

Find a tree and get a couple of strong men. Put the bend against the tree and slowly work the mast about 1 1/2 feet in and out. The bend will go away on a min or 2.

when adjusting standing rigging, make sure the mast does not have a bend in it.