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 Catalina 25 Specific Forum
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jlguthri
1st Mate

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USA
93 Posts
Initially Posted - 02/26/2006 :  20:47:31  Show Profile  Visit jlguthri's Homepage
How much bend in the mast is too much?

It looks like I have a slight bend in mine about where the boom meets the mast. Before, I say much... I was curious -- what is the point to get worried?

It looks have an inch or so deflection side to side (enough to see if you know what to look for... but it don't jump out at you).



----
Joshua Guthrie
www.westmouthbay.com
Edited by - jlguthri on 02/26/2006 20:48:15

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts
Response Posted - 02/27/2006 :  06:48:54  Show Profile  Visit Frank Hopper's Homepage
Mast bend is a term used to describe the for-aft mast deflection that is generally above the spreaders. It pulls sail material forward and flattens the mainsail, concurrently, the act of hardening the backstay to deflect the mast also hardens the forestay which is desirable in the wind conditions that would justify flattening the main. All of this presumes either a straight mast or a mast with a little prebend in the same place that the additional bend will occur. (Mast rake is not bending.)
Side to side deflection is a bad thing, you should ease all of your side stays and see if it goes away, if it does not then you have mast kink, a worse thing.
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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5902 Posts
Response Posted - 02/27/2006 :  08:50:59  Show Profile
If you press straight down on a plastic soda straw, it has considerable strength, but if it has a slight kink in one side, it'll collapse with hardly any resistance.

If you ease all the stays, as Frank suggests, and the bend goes away, then it's nothing to be concerned about. You just need to retune your rig from scratch. If the bend is still there, then that means the mast is sprung slightly. If the mast wall has any creases or bends or dimples in it, I would replace it. If it doesn't, then I probably wouldn't replace it, although I'm basing that on your description of the bend.

A friend of mine raced in the C22 nationals about 15-20 years ago, and he said 2-3 boats sprung their masts somehow during the first day of racing in strong winds, and took them off at the end of the first day and had them straightened on the spot. I don't know how, but apparently it can be done if it's not too bad. If you can find a good rigger, maybe he can help you.

Any amount of unintentional bend is not good, but if it's only sprung very slightly, and you can't get it straightened, I would suggest you tune the rig snugly, without overtensioning it, and don't use a backstay adjuster anymore, and avoid conditions that cause extreme stress to the mast. There's no way of measuring exactly how much the mast's strength has been reduced by a slight bend. It's certainly not going to come down in moderate winds, but, as the windspeed rises, any amount of bend increases as a matter of concern. You can't know where it's break point will be.

One of our members on the forum recently got a price on a new bare mast extrusion from Catalina Direct for about $650.
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Jonathan Cuff
Navigator

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Cayman Island
173 Posts
Response Posted - 02/27/2006 :  09:45:37  Show Profile
That was me with the mast extrusion! The lead time is 4-6 weeks from CD. I've got a slight kink or indentation just where the spreader brackets are. One of my spreader brackets has been pushed slightly aft as a result of what was probably a debris strike in Hurricane Ivan. I'm figuring that the mast is supported at that point by a compression tube and I've sailed the boat ever since, but I wouldn't want to be out in heavy conditions right now. Just for my piece of mind I went ahead and ordered the new part.

Cheers Jonathan
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Trust Me
1st Mate

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USA
71 Posts
Response Posted - 02/27/2006 :  14:13:21  Show Profile
Joshua:
If you decide to "order the part" like Jonathan suggests ...remember we don't say we're spending $650.00 like Steve said...we just say it only costs 6 1/2 boat units
Ron
s/v Trust Me
on the hard, under the snow, frozen to the ground, etc. etc. etc.
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jlguthri
1st Mate

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USA
93 Posts
Response Posted - 02/27/2006 :  16:23:39  Show Profile  Visit jlguthri's Homepage
i appologize.

the mast is laying in the back yard and not on the boat.

when we sat it down, we noticed it had a slight side to side sway in it. <1" deflection... my father saw it first and it took me three times to see it myself...

I would call it a sway, or a bow... rather than a bend... shoot, i couldn't find it today when i looked for it..

nothing is perfectly straight... however, how much should concern me????
Edited by - jlguthri on 02/27/2006 16:24:37
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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts
Response Posted - 02/27/2006 :  19:01:08  Show Profile  Visit Frank Hopper's Homepage
That could have been a solar effect, while our masts are not bi-metalic they are wide enough that sun on one side could cause a sway.
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jlguthri
1st Mate

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USA
93 Posts
Response Posted - 02/27/2006 :  20:15:08  Show Profile  Visit jlguthri's Homepage
*grins*
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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.