REmoving behind the mast reefing.

[tgpt21]

I recently bought a Gibsea 372 which has rivetted to the mast a furling system which I would like to remove anbd return to a traditional mainsail. This would mean drilling out the rivets clearly. What are thre implications for the strength of the mast. How would I fill in the holes? There is just so much C$"% rivetted, glued and screwed to it. I just want to rub it out and start again!
Anybody out there carried out this improvement?

 

[Clyde_Wanderer]

Once you have removed all the revited on crap, why dont you just fill the holes with monel revits again, sure they dont look all that bad?
use a Duralac on the revits to stop galvanic corosion.
Removing the revits shouldent weaken the mast as its the holes that weaken it not the revits.

 

[FullCircle]

Suggestion: Use aluminium rivets to fill in the holes and save a few quid - after all, the rivets are no longer performing a structural job....

Also, consider putting a length of track up one side of the mast to be able to hoist a trysail.

 

[pessimist]

Had this done a few years ago. The holes were filled by ordinary aluminium rivets as suggested by FullCircle.

Don't know about the mast strength, but the rigger who did the job seemed happy at the time and is still happy to maintain the rig.

Make sure that every hole is plugged or you'll find yourself giving involuntary pan pipe renditions as the wind direction changes - fun to begin with, but boring after a while.

 

[samwise]

Sounds like a lot of grief to me. There was a post about this a few months ago and the guy was weighing the cost ( and safety element) of stripping off the offending in mast gubbins and buying a new mainsail or sticking with what he had. Do you have a problem with in-mast furling? The more recent systems are pretty good if set up properly and are great for single handers. There was a very recent discussion on this forum about the pros and cons.

 

[savageseadog]

There won't be any problem with the holes. Small rivet holes will not have any impact on strength. Use some monel rivets to fill and tidy up.

 

[DanTribe]

I stripped my old Easyreef a few years ago.
Drill & punch out old rivets and fill holes with monel rivets and yellow goo.The saving on using aluminium rivets is not great and I was told there was less chance of electrolysis with monel.
Be ready to support weight of gear when it does come free, it's pretty heavy and I only just got my foot out in time.
The boat sails so much better without the gadget.

 

[BlueSkyNick]

Been there, done that and got the scars to prove it - well not really, only minor scratches.

Firstly on the holes, I asked the very same question on here (in 2005) and got much the same answers. Also Kemp Sails gave me loads of advice about it. As it happens, I didnt get around to filling the holes before I sold the boat, as it was purely cosmetic. It would ahve been a lot easier with the mast down than up, and my 'rigger' son was losing interest !!

The Easy Reef system I had, was in five sections about 8 feet long. We took off the bottom one first to find out what involved. Then we pulled out the furling rod/spindle/ whatever you want to call it. With the mast up, it was impossible to not bend it, but it went straight in the skip anyway.

We found that the add-on sections have a 'tongue' which slots in the original track of the mast. Ours was pretty tight so even with all the rivets drilled out, the metalwork stayed in place. We had to carefully pry it out, again from the bottom, but have to admit to scratching the remaining mast in the process.

As we worked up higher, we used the topping lift shackled through a hole, to lower each piece to the deck - again they ended up in the skip.

This all took us about 12 hours in total, but we were learning as we went along and my son had never been up a mast before !

The other main consideration is the gooseneck fittings. Kemps were concerned that the original mast can be damaged when they are removed to fit the furling system. Fortunately, it was absolutely fine and the boom was easily refitted to to the mast.

Oh, one more thing - we used a 10mm drill bit to take the heads off the rivets and enlarge the hole in the furling metalwork. This was easier than trying to drill through monel right into the mast. I bought a second cordless drill and kept charging one while the other was in use.

On our Moody 346 there was 40 rivets on each side.

We did it all with the mast in situ because it was AUgust and wanted to get back to sailing. WIth the benefit of time, I would have had the mast lifted off and done all the work at ground level.

Hope all this helps at least a little.

 

[savageseadog]

[ QUOTE ]
Oh, one more thing - we used a 10mm drill bit to take the heads off the rivets and enlarge the hole in the furling metalwork. This was easier than trying to drill through monel right into the mast.

[/ QUOTE ]Agree with this, not sure if it needs to be that big but you get the idea. Might be worth considering a cobalt drill bit as it will stay sharp and speed the job up a lot plus it will keep the job neat.

 

[BlueSkyNick]

you're right, an 8mm or even 6mm bit would suffice. Also take your point about cobalt - I just used standard HSS bits, and got through about 3 of them.