| Near de-mast , disaster.
[Re: Andrew]
#52746 07/10/05 04:31 PM 07/10/05 04:31 PM |
Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,074 Northfield,NH USA bullswan OP
Pooh-Bah
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OP
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,074 Northfield,NH USA | Andrew, I am just off the water and still shaking my head. I took what you said and it sounded perfectly reasonable so this morning I fashioned a pad to keep the post from punching a hole in the dolphin striker. And went sailing. Two hours later we hear a loud BANG!!!! The mast ball is just visible above the front beam. The mast coupling is still covering the ball but the shrouds are loose as hell and I'm scared we are going to de-mast. I put the captive pin back in by pushing the rod back up as much as I can till it seats nicely in the mast cup. The dolphin striker is in perfect shape but the post has slipped down next to it giving the post some stability. We limp in carefully and take everything down as slowly and safely as possible and then go investgating. The top nut that usually rests above the beam is now inside the beam. As I look more closely now at the COMPLETE MAST STEPPING kits for sale on Murrays I see that I should have had both a compression sleeve AND a washer between the two nuts. Both were missing when I bought the boat. SO now I have a front beam with a hole blown through the top the size of the nut. I've got a couple of people checking on getting my a new front beam but sitting here wondering and trying to learn from the experience I'm wondering if something bigger than a washer should be under that top nut to spread the load. Under load that is a lot of weight. I also wondered if this beam is trash or whether a 12-14 inch piece (of something solid with the same outer radius as the beam) could overlay the hole and be drilled to allow the mast post to come through and also riveted into place to repair the damage done by me today. Is that just stupid? In hindsight the whole accident is stupid and I'm kinda embarrassed I didn't recognise the problem and correct it before it happened. I guess everything in hindsight looks stupid but still.......
I'd love to know what you experienced sailors think about all this. I also wish the assembly manual supplied by Performance showed in some detail (instead of ignoring it altogether) just what that critical area (the mast post)should look like. The manual doesn't even mention the components of the post nor how to adjust it to give some prebend. NOTHING. The only place prebend is talked about at all is on the bridle.
Well, we survived and after a few dollars more we'll be back at it. Wiser and poorer. Hey anyway, the great news is my crew/wife and I flew our first hull today. Wahoo!!!!! Thanks folks! Greg
The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised. - George Will "It's not that liberals aren't smart, it's just that so much of what they know isn't so" -Ronald Reagan | | |
Entire Thread
|
Nacra 5.5sl Mast Post Question
| bullswan | 07/09/05 08:33 PM |
Re: Nacra 5.5sl Mast Post Question
| Andrew | 07/09/05 11:44 PM |
Near de-mast , disaster.
| bullswan | 07/10/05 09:31 PM |
Re: Near de-mast , disaster.
| Jake | 07/10/05 10:02 PM |
Re: Near de-mast , disaster.
| bullswan | 07/10/05 11:32 PM |
Re: Near de-mast , disaster.
| Jake | 07/11/05 01:26 AM |
Re: Near de-mast , disaster.
| Jake | 07/11/05 01:26 AM |
Re: Near de-mast , disaster.
| Jake | 07/11/05 01:30 AM |
Re: Near de-mast , disaster.
| bullswan | 07/11/05 02:19 AM |
Re: Near de-mast , disaster.
| Jake | 07/11/05 02:27 AM |
Re: Near de-mast , disaster.
| bullswan | 07/11/05 12:38 PM |
Re: Near de-mast , disaster.
| Jake | 07/11/05 12:52 PM |
Re: Near de-mast , disaster.
| bullswan | 07/11/05 01:54 PM |
Re: Near de-mast , disaster.
| sparky | 07/11/05 02:37 PM |
Re: Near de-mast , disaster.
| bullswan | 07/11/05 03:30 PM |
Re: Near de-mast , disaster.
| Jake | 07/11/05 05:29 PM |
Re: Near de-mast , disaster.
| samevans | 07/11/05 05:33 PM |
Re: Near de-mast , disaster.
| bullswan | 07/11/05 06:34 PM |
Re: Near de-mast , disaster.
| bullswan | 07/11/05 06:36 PM |
Re: Nacra 5.5sl Mast Post Question
| Dan Berger | 07/11/05 03:52 PM |
Re: Nacra 5.5sl Mast Post Question
| NacraMike | 07/11/05 05:45 PM | |
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