Hi

I do not think that the dent is going to be a problem because it is located in a part that is not subjected to much stress. This area is not subjected to the same kind of load as the area supported by the stays.

Since it is mainly working in flexion instead as in compression, the load is much easyer to bear for the section and the risk of collapse is much lower.

The same problem located lower on the mast would have been a much bigger problem because the wall section has a bigger roisk of collapsing when it is submitted to both a compression load and a flexion load.

Since the section was designed to support both the compression and the flexion and also a security factor and since the section affected by the dent is not subjected to the same stress, I am pretty sure that your mast is still perfectly safe.

Charles Leblanc
Naacra 5.2