The Mast Step

[elektron]

This may be a familiar sight to some of you:




galvanic corrosion, I was told. and a pretty bad case of it. I recently completed the repair and will post my plan, execution and thoughts about the solution I decided on.

[elektron]

After Pulling the Mast:

[Dale Tanski]

Wow!
It is a good thing you found this before you loaded that spar up.  Really didn't look that bad in the first picture.
You know what this means... mast wiring, new mast lights, halyards, new windex, oh my.

Dale

[jpendoley]

Holy Smokes!  Mine looks great, but it was unstepped annually until I bought it. I've left it up for two years-need to look closely at this for the future. Thanks for posting
Jim

[elektron]

I decided to go with the Rig-Rite aluminum replacement mast step (Custom Keel-mount Mast Step for MM 8348 Mast: MM 8348MSK-P1)

Cut off 3" from the bottom of the mast with a sawsall and squared it off with a file. Added two small holes at the base to allow water to drain out either side of the mast.

To take up the 3" I cut off the bottom of the mast (which I didn't get a good picture of), I decided to pour an epoxy platform for the new mast step.

First of all, I measured (using a plumb bob) the position of the original mast step:



Removed the old mast step and ground down to raw fiberglass. Then built a form for pouring an west-system epoxy block at the location of the old mast step



The first try ended in a chain reaction and had to be attempted using longer intervals between pours.

After the form came off, I ground down the sharp edges:



and checked the new aluminum step placement according to my measurements:

[elektron]

While the mast was down I did a bunch of stuff... a new LED tricolor/anchor light, a Windex, and a VHF antenna on top. A new LED steaming/foredeck light. and two silly multi-mode antennas on the spreaders (where spreader lights used to be. All new wiring.

[elektron]

Placing the new step involved some measuring and drilling.. Needed a few drill bits of different lengths and a right angle drill to get under the floor...

[elektron]

Restepping went well:



And re-attached the triatic stay:

[Dale Tanski]

Looking good!

Just a thought... I have used a plastic garbage bag full of water placed upon a large volume epoxy pour or layup such as you did.  The water acts as a heat sink and controls the setup of the epoxy. I suppose that if the reaction got out of control the water would automatically deploy and save the day.

Dale