Mast Repair on Sirenuse #9

[NPen]

Well I sure am glad this site is here. It sounds like there is some good experience working with wood here, which I'd like to tap into. I have started working on my mizzen mast and am dealing with several worrying issues. Moisture got under the fiberglass, causing massive delamination of the fiberglass and spots of rot on the surface of the wood 4-5 inches across each. Even worse, the moisture caused the glue to release around the top third of the mast. The spots of rots I think I licked--I dug them out and filled them with wood filler and Clearcoat epoxy, then for good measure applied Clearcoat to the whole surface to give it some extra strength and waterproofing. I thought I'd be able to glue the fir pieces back together with the epoxy, but everyone I've talked to has only scowled and said that if the wood has had any exposure to rot that it's probably shot and should be replaced. So here are my questions, with pictures provided below:
1. Are these masts so bad that I need to bail on the repair and get new ones?
2. If they're not too warped, is epoxy like Clearcoat a good enough adhesive or should I use something else?
3. If they have lost strength due to warping, could I recapture that by wrapping them in fiberglass or maybe carbon fiber?

My experience lies more in sailing than in repairs, so I'm learning this as I go. Any advice? Okay, pictures:

Above is one of the areas where the glue on the mizzen has come undone. I epoxied the section to the right and it's holding together, but obviously I know the importance of a mast and that if it's going to break it's going to do so at the worst time possible.

Another section of the mizzen with the glue undone.

What encourages me to keep going with this is that the top and bottom of the mast seem to be tight and still in great condition.

The two pictures above of are my main mast. As you can see it still has the paint and fiberglass on it but from the looks of the base of it I have some rot and warping issues there as well. Thanks for reading all this, I could really use any advice you folks have for me.

Neil

[NPen]

Great info, thanks to both of you. I had a joiner here at the boatyard look at it today and he agreed that the rot seems to be on the surface and hasn't impacted the structure significantly. He recommended reglassing but I think I'm with you on that; on my masts it really looks like the most damage occurred because the glue let loose, and I don't think it would've done that if the fiberglass hadn't trapped the moisture in. He also recommended running a saw along the gaps to widen them so that I'll be able to put in strips of fir soaked in epoxy resin to help join it all together. I forget what he called them, but all in all it's a HUGE relief to hear that I'm still on the right track here. Most of the wood is in great shape and I don't think the warping is to the point that it'll break free from the glue. Now that it's warming up here I'm finally able to start making plans to get this done.

I appreciate the advice, and will post my progress on this blog!

[bob mitchell]

T

[Hans Petrie]

Oh yeah - whenever I do wood repair on the Newporter I use lots of stainless steel deck screws with a "square" rather than "phillips" drive to hold everything together. The square drive does not strip out (use a cordless screwdriver as they don't spin so fast). And I mean "lots". They are inexpensive compared to wood screws so you can use 10 times as many and they come in all sorts of lengths. They are not nearly as strong but since you have more of them it compensates. The screw is only as strong as the wood it is screwed into. Be sure, of course, to countersink them slightlighly and epoxy fill over the top of them so water cannot get in.

I'm thinking the warping on the bottom of your mast is occuring because water is accumulating at the base - it is probably running down the inside of the mast and getting trapped - then it dries out and the wood warps.

I would probably remove the fiberglass from the main and see how bad it is. If only part of it is bad maybe you can remove that and shorten it and use it for your mizzen and get a new main or something. (That is - if things are bad maybe you can get one good mast out of the two of them).

Also, the main mast is FAR more important than the mizzen on a Newporter. Some would say that in heavy winds you should take down the main and sail with mizzen and jib. I don't recommend this on the Newporter. The Mizzen is not as well supported as the main on a newporter and the pressures are incredible. Above 20 knots I typically take down the Mizzen sail and use Main and Staysail (the club footed jib). This is a good combo to 30 knots. Above 30 knots I would probably reef the main. I have found this combo to give better control and to point higher in heavy winds. The mizzen is great for lighter winds and is nice because you can haul it down instead of reefing the main when the wind picks up.

I'm curious others sailing combos. I'm Jealous of boats like Lebrachaun that sail with 9 different sheets. That must be crazy to figure all that out.

[Hans Petrie]

Some of the Newporters had fiberglass over the masts for strength. This proved, in the long run, to be a poor choice for longevity of the masts themselves as the polyester resin used has generally not withstood the test of time (40+ years). I have done mizzen repair on my mast splicing in about a four foot section. If the wood is warped and rotted it needs to be replaced as it will always expand and contract and bust out any glue joints you have. If the rot is not terrible you can sand it all down and fill it with epoxy resin diluted with acetone. Brush it on and it will soak into the wood and make it hard as a rock. Let it soak up as much as it will take. If you worried about strength you can always re-fibergalss the wood - though if you can avoid this - that is best. If you need new wood you can splice in clear verticle grain fir which may be easier to obtain than clear verticle grain spruce. Also, the mast is hollow. You can always "fill the void" by putting in some solid wood. The masts are built of sections of woods spliced together in an overlap fasion to build a hollow box (though it is solid around the base, top and spreaders (or where the stays attach on the mizzen since it doesn't have spreaders).

Generally if just a few boards are bad - cut them out and put in new ones - leave plenty of overlap for strength.

New masts would be an expensive endeavor.

I wish I had pictures of my mast repair - but alas - I didn't have a camera at the time and was not feeling sentimental about 2 months in the Illwaco WA boatyard waiting for the rain to stop so I could do some work.

I've not used the "clearcoat" product. I have had good luck with West Systems as it always measures the resin to hardener precisely - has good filler additive options - can be thinned with acetone to use as a penetrating hardner for rotten wood and is easy to work with fiberglass if you want. On the bad side it is very expensive. However, I have never had to "re-do" any work with it and with the array of fillers you can get you can make a mixture that will fit your job (fairing vs. filling for strength). I would stay away from polyester resins. The biggest part of boat repair is time - so it is worth spending a few more bucks on materials that will enable you to do a good job.

I was lucky in that my masts were not fiberglassed. The mizzen rotted around where the stays attach - then it cracked and rotted even more. It had that damage when I bought the boat. So far I think my main is OK but I need to haul both sticks down on the next haul out and really go over them before I go way offshore (like to Hawaii). I think the masts without the fiberglass do better because they don't trap moisture and are exposed to the sun and air so they dry out quickly. This boat spent a lot of time in the pacific northwest and the north side of the boat never got any sun so had some pretty serious rot - the entire port side of the pilothouse was completely rotten - you could stick a screwdriver through both 3/4" layers of plywood and water wood ooze out of the thin fiberglass skin...

I honestly think the thin 4oz polyester fiberglass skin of the Newporter is it's Achilles heel - though mine has done pretty well below the waterline.