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As I'm catching up on my other winter "on the hard" boat projects, I got around to fixing a wiring problem in the mast. For the first time since I bought my 26S, I took a good look at the base of the mast. Ummm...would ya take a look at that hole?



This is a pic looking at the base of the mast attached to the bow pulpit. See how wollered or worn out that hole is? The best I can figure is that the rigging was too loose in the past, which allowed too much motion at the base of the mast. What do you think? Recommendations on remediation?

The weight of the mast isn't on that bolt, as it is all a compression load down to the boat at that point, but still, it looks icky.

That is worn out! Mine had a little slop and this is how I fixed it. Get some aluminum round stock just larger in diameter than your worn hole. Ream out that worn hole in the mast to just below the diameter of your stock. Cut the round stock to just wider than the with of the mast. Drill a perfict hole the size your bolt thru the center of the round stock. Put the round stock in the freezer, heat the mast, if the size is right you will have to drive the bushing in. If you dont want a pressed fit or get the size wrong just structural epoxy it (JB weld will work) or have someone weld it.

why not just buy alum thick wall tubing then no need to drill
thats if u r able to buy it in ur area
J

why not just buy alum thick wall tubing then no need to drill

I don't understand your statement. To replace the entire mast?

mdbrown wrote:

why not just buy alum thick wall tubing then no need to drill

I don't understand your statement. To replace the entire mast?

No he thinking buying aluminum tubing instead of making a bushing. However from the look of how worn out it is I dont think you will find anything with large enought wall thickness.

If you do not have a lathe or access to one, once you get the bushing made just take it to a machine shop and have them drill the bushing out.

Was out running more wires in the mast and replacing deck plug this weekend so I got a picture of my bushing. This was put in over 5 years ago with the Heat and Chill method and is still tight. Your bushing will need a larger OD but this should give you an idea.






Yes I am up to a 14 pin conector now, but I do have 2 spares.

Awesome...that makes sense. Thanks for the pics!

Nice, Grady.
I used a couple of bronze bushings in my mast to reinforce the bolt holes. We'll have to see how they hold up though. They've only been there 1 season so far.

The bronze bushing should work good. They may wear out and need to be replaced. The reason I went with the solid bushing all the way was so I could tighten up the bolt on the bushing so there is no possibility of movement.