Unique Mast Step Question

dpearson

New Member
Yes, I've tried to research a bunch of mast step postings on the forum, but haven't found an answer to my problem. Perhaps this thread will succeed? I was given a Laser with a mast step that won't hold water, just pours right through. I put in an access port and have determined that the mast step itself is separated from the base of the mast step. I've seen postings on how to glass in this area, but I have three questions first:

(1) Is the mast step cylindrical section supposed to have a bottom to it? When I wiggle the mast step [slightly], I can see that the bottom of mast step is the hull / rectangular section itself, i.e. no end cap on the mast step. Is this normal? Or did the previous owner put out the bottom and now the mast rides on the re-inforced hull area?

(2) Should I attempt to put in some fiberglass on the inside at the bottom to build up this area or should I just glass in the bottom of the step to the rectangular reinforcement on the hull?

(3) Is it better to put a Bondo-type hardening-type putty between the bottom of the mast step in the annular region between the step and the rectangular reinforcement before glassing that area in, or should I just lay up numerous layers of glass to mate this interface?

Thanks for your help. It was a bit of surprise to me to see the cylinder completely detached at the bottom.
 
(1) Is the mast step cylindrical section supposed to have a bottom to it?

Yes


When I wiggle the mast step [slightly], I can see that the bottom of mast step is the hull / rectangular section itself, i.e. no end cap on the mast step. Is this normal?

No

(2) Should I attempt to put in some fiberglass on the inside at the bottom to build up this area or should I just glass in the bottom of the step to the rectangular reinforcement on the hull?

No need to try and get fiberglass inside at the bottom - once you have glassed the bottom to the plywood reinforcement, you will just be able to pour resin in the tube to create the new bottom - this is covered in a number of the other threads, including what the target depth of the mast step should be

(3) Is it better to put a Bondo-type hardening-type putty between the bottom of the mast step in the annular region between the step and the rectangular reinforcement before glassing that area in, or should I just lay up numerous layers of glass to mate this interface?

Chip out all the loose filler and then it's your choice to add some quaility filler back in, or just lay up the mat. Structurally, the mat is going to be much stronger then the original doughnut, with or without any filler between it and the tube. The job will go faster if you leave out the filler.

Thanks for your help. It was a bit of surprise to me to see the cylinder completely detached at the bottom.

It shouldn't be - it's by far the most common issue with older boats that have been sailed a lot. You're lucky you are catching it before it it ripped out and destroyed the deck
 
Hmmm... good point. You can tell when others have done this more often than me. I'll definitely do that. Also thinking of dropping one of those Laser disks in there after the resin hardens up, maybe with just a dab of resin on the lower side of the disk to glue it in. I saw some novel ways to insert the disk properly in the archives, including one that uses a vacumn cleaner to hold the disk until it's inserted, then turing off the vacumn to release the disk. Clever.
 
Final note: I applied Bondo filler around the base of the mast step, sanded it down, and then did the fiberglass / resin thing. It certainly looks easier than it really is. There must be some trick to applying strips of fiberglass to the wetted mast step on the back side from the viewing port -- you can't see back there and the fiberglass certainly seems to want to stick to the protective glove more than the mast-step! I put about 2" wide vertical strips around the mast step and then one wrap horizontally around the mast step at the top of the vertical strips. So it's not pretty, but I was able to get enough resin and fiberglass in there to make it look solid and there is certainly no leak anymore. I think the bondo stopped the leak problem and the fiberglass / resin just added a fair amount of rigidity. I'll post a couple of pix soon.

A heads up to someone who wants to play this mast step game: try simulating it with a piece of PVC pipe and an obstructed view before actually doing it to the Laser.
 
PS - Cutting the circle in the deck for the inspection port was easy if you use a Dremel tool with a cutting drill (almost looks like a normal drill). This setup is typically used for cutting holes in drywall. After all, you DO want a nice hole for your inspection port mounting.
 
Here are some before / after pictures of the bottom of the mast step and a picture of the top of the mast step after some resin has been applied.
 

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