600 mast step

   The mast steps on my 600 is all cracked up and dodgy looking so I've taken the metal bit off it and started looking at what i can do to make the structure better. There doesn't seem to be much I can do short of taking the hole lot off and rebuilding it, which is beyond what i was hoping to do and probably beyond my abilities of mending stuff. I have currently removed a lot of gelcoat that was put on there to cover up the cracks by a previous owner, and i have also removed some dodgy, wet filler that wasnt really bonded to it anyway, now I'm wondering what to do next. I will post some photos here tomorrow when there is some light but in the mean time any sugestions are welcome.
I am now going to post a similar question on the yahoo group.
Thanks in advance.

Edited by mike ellis

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mike ellis Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 30 Dec 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 2339	Post Options Post Reply Quote mike ellis Report Post Quote Reply Topic: 600 mast step Posted: 05 Jan 09 at 10:26pm
	The mast steps on my 600 is all cracked up and dodgy looking so I've taken the metal bit off it and started looking at what i can do to make the structure better. There doesn't seem to be much I can do short of taking the hole lot off and rebuilding it, which is beyond what i was hoping to do and probably beyond my abilities of mending stuff. I have currently removed a lot of gelcoat that was put on there to cover up the cracks by a previous owner, and i have also removed some dodgy, wet filler that wasnt really bonded to it anyway, now I'm wondering what to do next. I will post some photos here tomorrow when there is some light but in the mean time any sugestions are welcome. I am now going to post a similar question on the yahoo group. Thanks in advance. Edited by mike ellis
	600 732, will call it Sticks and Stones when i get round to it. Also International 14, 1318

JimC Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6660	Post Options Post Reply Quote JimC Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 05 Jan 09 at 10:51pm
	Send a photo, but most likely remove all the cracked up rubbish and replace with multiple layers of epoxy and glass or carbon, as much fibre and as little resin as you can manage whilst still keeping it all fully wetted out. Weigh the whole lot down with loads of weight and some peel ply to tidy it up, sand flat and replace fittings. If you can possibly through bolt the fitting do so. Care and attention will be more important than any spectaculat degree of skill. If its wore than local cracking then its a bigger deal. Edited by JimC

Stevie_GTI Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Posting king Joined: 21 Oct 08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 134	Post Options Post Reply Quote Stevie_GTI Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Jan 09 at 2:24am
	need to see pics really before advice is given. little tip with peel ply....when you are putting it down, heat it up as u dab it down with the brush, makes the whole things a lot neater and goes down really easily

radixon Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 27 Oct 06 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 2407	Post Options Post Reply Quote radixon Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Jan 09 at 8:48am
	Ask RS I am sure they would be more than happy to assist in advising what to do.

craiggo Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 01 Apr 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1810	Post Options Post Reply Quote craiggo Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Jan 09 at 1:23pm
	Normally the cracks in the area are just superficial cracks in the gelcoat. The problem is that when underload there is a bit of give in the structure but the thin layer of gel-coat is relatively brittle and so cracks. I would clean up the area under the mast foot, then remove any gelcoat locally thats cracked or not fully bonded down. Replace the mast foot with a suitable sealant layer below, and then build the gelcoat back up to the edges of the mast foot. I would recommend stopping short of the mast foot itself by a few mm and then filling the gap with something flexible like sikaflex. If however the structure below the mast foot is soft, Id get it back to LDC for a professional repair as the bulkhead may need re-building. Paul

mike ellis Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 30 Dec 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 2339	Post Options Post Reply Quote mike ellis Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Jan 09 at 5:42pm
	Right, more info. It is not just gel coat. The epoxy or whatever it is it's made from has a couple of chunks missing out of it but there are large areas of it that look fine. Having got inside the hull today with a camera, there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the bulkhead and the damage is restricted to the raised part with the step on it. What is peel ply you refer to Jim, I have heard you speak of it before but a bit of googling leaves me none the wiser, what is it? where can I get it? how should I use it? Finaly here are some pictures of the mast step, they aren't very close up and detailed as there wasn't enough light left when i got home today to get any good close up picks. So here are some to give you an idea but I'll try to get some better ones tomorrow. That seems to have come out OK actually. You can see the chunk missing next to the furthest right screw hole. There is a clear layer of filler over the top which is why you can see 6 screw holes as oposed to the normal 3. Edited by mike ellis
	600 732, will call it Sticks and Stones when i get round to it. Also International 14, 1318

JimC Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6660	Post Options Post Reply Quote JimC Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Jan 09 at 6:02pm
	Not really enough clarity, but I wouldn't be altogether suprised if that isn't mainly gel coat damage... Are there fibres sticking out/cracks obviously going through fibres? If not its just a question of cleaning up all the bits, removing all dross (acetione could be a useful solvent) and building back up to shape with something very strong. You could possibly use gel coat again which would be prettiest, but I think I'd probably mix up some epoxy resin with microfibres and silica. Peel ply is a nlylon fabric that soaks up excess resin and is then just peeled off the laminate when its cured. For what you want you just need an offcut from your local friendly boat builder - everyone has odd scraps that sort of size left.

mike ellis Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 30 Dec 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 2339	Post Options Post Reply Quote mike ellis Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Jan 09 at 6:06pm
	Thanks Jim, I'll get on to getting all the rest of the rubbish off it then post some more pictures when I've got that far. In the mean time there is another problem I have found, inside the hull this time, I'm starting a new thread now.
	600 732, will call it Sticks and Stones when i get round to it. Also International 14, 1318

craiggo Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 01 Apr 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1810	Post Options Post Reply Quote craiggo Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 06 Jan 09 at 10:40pm
	Mike, Yeah it looks how I imagined it to be, ie superficial damage. The small chunks of epoxy that have come away near the fastener holes are not really a problem, but clean it all up dig out any suspect or cracking bits and re-fill with epoxy and colloidal silica or microballoons. You can then cover this neatly with a thin film of gelcoat just to bring it back to original condition. As Jim says peel ply is great but for the size of area you are looking at I really dont think you need it. Slightly overfill the areas and file and sand it back before applying the gelcoat. Your down at Hill Head SC arnt you ? so there should be a few handy guys like the Hyde brothers, Pinky or Tim Webber around who may be able to give you advice. Your also not far from LDC so pop in an ask them how they'd fix it?

mike ellis Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 30 Dec 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 2339	Post Options Post Reply Quote mike ellis Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 07 Jan 09 at 4:53pm
	Yeah im at HHSC, I think ill be fine fixing it with either microfibres of some glass tape to build it up. I've now got all the crap off and unfortunately it wasn't just superficial cracks, most of it was just gel coat filler undearneath and the cracks went right through it so i took all the gelcoat and some of the original material off as that had cracks in it also (it could have been more slightly different coloured filler though). I found some of the old screws left in the glass as well. I'm going to wait until ive got hold of LDC about the other problem before i start any repairs on this bit though (hopefully it will be a bit warmer by then too).
	600 732, will call it Sticks and Stones when i get round to it. Also International 14, 1318