Keel stepped mast. Rotted sole needs repair. How?

[Morgan27]

Hi,
I have just purchased a 1973 Morgan 27'. The boat is sound except for the mast step. It seems the deck weather boot was neglected and the result is rotted wood at the base of the mast. How would someone go about doing this important repair? I suspect I will be removing all wasted wood, cleaning and inspecting the mast base, lifting the mast (loosen the stays and use an automotive jack to raise it the 4 inches I need to complete the repair?) and installing a proper footing plate.
This is my first boat so spell it out for the new guy if you can. The boat is scheduled to come out of dry dock mid May. Thanks for any help!

 

[30boat]

You should consider making a raised step for the mast so that water doesn't acumulate there.The mast heel looks a bit corroded to me.On my previous boat that had a keel stepped mast I made a step of very thick hardwood that spanned two floors.there was a laminated in bump underteath that to take the compression loads.This way the mast heel is always dry and while I owned the boat ,10 years,there was no corrosion at all.

 

[TradewindSailor]

The mast must be removed. It shouldn't cost much.

It looks like the mast has been stepped on top of the plywood sole board. This is rather short-sighted as shouldn't be done. I have seen similar on a Nauticat 33.

The plywood is not the load bearer ..... it is merely acting as a spacer. Find out what is actually supporting the mast and spreading those loads into the hull and keel, then fabricate a mast foot to the correct height from teak, iroko, mahogany, or other hard rot resistant wood .... and coat with epoxy.

If you have any doubts you'll need to consult a reputable shipwright or surveyor.

 

[Morgan27]

Thank you both for the reply. I'm glad to hear this sounds something like I can do myself. I'll fabricate a step from the proper material after removing the rotten wood.

Have either of you seen a way to partly lift the mast 4 inches or so without a crane? I can imagine a way using a automotive jack and some rigging from inside after loosening the stays. Any ideas would be appreciated. I'll get to work on a step.

 

[TradewindSailor]

Frankly I wouldn't do that. With the centre of gravity of the mast so high above the deck it is likely to fall down. Even if you did manage to support it, the temporary support would be in the way of your repair.

Take the mast off.

 

[Tranona]

Thank you both for the reply. I'm glad to hear this sounds something like I can do myself. I'll fabricate a step from the proper material after removing the rotten wood.

Have either of you seen a way to partly lift the mast 4 inches or so without a crane? I can imagine a way using a automotive jack and some rigging from inside after loosening the stays. Any ideas would be appreciated. I'll get to work on a step.

Take the opportunity to remove the mast and check all the rigging at the same time. You need to inspect and probably repair the base of the mast anyway. You will find it much easier rebuilding the step with room to work around the area.

 

[oldsaltoz]

There should be a plate on the bottom, normally aluminium and 4 or 6 bolts set into the base with nuts on top of the plate.

Whatever you end up doing make sure it includes no timber of any kind or you will the whole job again down the track.

A solid fix would be to use a 216 stainless plate with a 5 mm slice of plastic board between it and the aluminium base plate to prevent ant electrolysis reaction, also insulate the thread and nuts that pass through the aluminium plate.

Any filling or fairing required can be done with a mix or epoxy resin and micro-fibres.

Good luck and fair winds.

 

[simonfraser]

+1 Remove the mast and inspect
My mast sits in an alluminium foot, fixed to the deck, which is ply wood epoxy.

 

[pmagowan]

As said, remove mast. It is so much easier to work with it out and if it has not been out before then you get a good oportunity to redo the wiring and replace masthead lights etc. We considered all kinds of funny solutions to raising a mast including sailing under a bridge and lifting it that way. Eventually the very friendly and helpful people at the fishfarm in Glenarm used their working-boat crane to lift it for us. The mast step can be made of decent wood. I wouldn't worry about epoxy and stuff personally. Ours is 50 years old with no obvious sign of rot and it is mahogany. It should rest on the keel as the name suggests and the sole should have nothing to do with it.