Mizzen Mast Support
- Alan Lindsey
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On our 1979 Whitby 42 we have a noticeable amount of deck compression under our mizzen mast. The mizzen is also raked aft appreciably compared to the main mast. Our boat does not have a stay between the mizzen and the main (triatic).
Some of the signs on our boat:
-- The deck aft of the mast step has sunk
-- The aft head door has been sanded / filed to close
-- The formica on the bulkhead in the head has a vertical crack
-- After removing the mizzen the head door now has 1/2 additional clearance at the top corner near the bulkhead
Now that we have the masts removed I am hoping we can address the compression issue by jacking up the floor under the bulkhead and adding a permanent support.
Anyone else added a support under the floor for the mizzen?
Scott
BTW - I have drilled some exploratory holes under the mizzen step and have only found dry hardwood core.
S/V Honu Lele
Kemah, Texas
Hull# 141
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- Alan Lindsey
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Read this article and you'll understand why.
www.landfallnavigation.com/harrowing.html
Scott
S/V Honu Lele
Kemah, Texas
Hull# 141
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- Randy Robinson
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Randy Robinson here. After a lot of research Diane Gorch and I just bought a 1979 Whitby Hull # 134 in Nov. 2009. We knew at that time we were 1 of 3 hull #’s that had lost their mizzen mast. In our case it was in a storm on Lake Huron. A triatic stay was added and no problems in the last 20 yrs. No compression issues.
Have you used a moister meter on the deck? You can pick one up on e-bay at half the price. I think it will be worth it to you.
Our boat is in Sarnia, Canada and we are in Michigan, USA. I will be going over to work on it this week and I will take pictures of what ours mizzen looks like and send them on. I hope it will be of help.
Good Luck……………rr
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- Gerry O'Donoghue
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First check the base to ensure that there is no compression of the core.
Then look at this solution I photographed during the rendezvous; (In case the photos don't show up here this is a link to my blog). Note that I left the photo of the owner in the shot so that he can be tracked down and questioned. If he objects and contacts me I will be happy to pixelate his face to protect his identity :-).
The Incredible Hull
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- Alan Lindsey
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I checked out the pictures on TIH's website. It looks like a compression post was added under the cabin sole to the bottom of the bilge along with some reinforcements bolted to the bulkhead. I wonder what is under the compression post in the bottom of the bilge?
The bottom of my bilge looks like some smooth poured resin with a small sump towards the engine. I wasn't sure if this was a false floor or some sort of filler under it. Does anyone know?
If I can avoid laminating a new floor between the seacocks it would save me lots of time.
S/V Honu Lele
Kemah, Texas
Hull# 141
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- Gerry O'Donoghue
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I whacked it a few times with a mallet with no result before I covered it with epoxy/sand mix. I would use as large a plate as possible to spread the load.
Gerry
theincrediblehull.blogspot.com/search/label/bilge
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- Scott Lee
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- Joie de Vivre - #88
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- Alan Lindsey
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I cut a hole above the starboard cockpit drain seacock this week. It was a huge can of worms :-) This has been on my list of "todos" for a long time. I figured this way I will have better access to install a compression post and of course service the unreachable seacock. It was a messy job.
I found some more areas of concern that may be contributing to the sunken mast step.
-- The cabin sole around the hole was mostly delaminated due to rotten balsa
-- The bulk head under the mizzen is water logged in the bottom several inches (rotten)
I removed the bolts used to pin the aft bulkhead to the cabin sole molding and found wet wood. After drilling some more holes through the laminate it appears the wetness doesn't extend above about 4 inches. My next task is to cut away the laminate and see how rotten the wood has become.
Now I am thinking from the pictures that Gerry shared that I will be adding some additional vertical supports around the existing bulkhead. I am now wondering if the cabin sole is even compressing or if the bulkhead simply compressed from the rot.
Here are the links to the photos.
Picasa Album Whitby Mizzen Compression
S/V Honu Lele
Kemah, Texas
Hull# 141
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- Alan Lindsey
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S/V Honu Lele
Kemah, Texas
Hull# 141
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- Randy Robinson
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- Randy Robinson
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- Randy Robinson
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- Gerry O'Donoghue
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If you e-mail me the pics I will try and post them. Gerry.
whitby42 "at" gmail.com
Done: I think that pics need to be under 50KB(? open to correction) in order to post properly. Use a free program like IrfanView to re-size and edit your photos.
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- Alan Lindsey
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Ok, so I did surgery on the bulkhead to remove the rot. Found the source of the water too, it was dripping in from the two mizzen wire runs through the deck. Luckily it has been raining pretty hard lately which is helping me find all kids of leaks.
Rot, rot, rot.... I remember reading in one of the Pardey books that they kept their wooden boat bone dry down below by swabbing the decks with salt water. You think that works for "classic plastic" boats :-)
Here are some more pics of the progress:
S/V Honu Lele
Kemah, Texas
Hull# 141
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- Dan Pedersen
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Thanks,
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- Randy Robinson
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- Alan Lindsey
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I have a CAD drawing I used to send to a metal distributor who used a water jet machine to cut it out. I'll upload a picture and the CAD drawings as soon as I get back to my laptop.
Scott
S/V Honu Lele
Kemah, Texas
Hull# 141
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- Alan Lindsey
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They are just up the road from me outside of Houston.
S/V Honu Lele
Kemah, Texas
Hull# 141
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- Debi Shaimas
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Anyone else out there who tried this as a solution?
Thank you!
Debi
Serenity #110
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