[C38] Spartite VS Mast boot
Charles
charles at finn.ws
Fri May 9 12:46:25 EDT 2008
There is a phenomena called "mast pump," which is the tendency for a
mast to oscillate under load especially when your mast is not well
tuned. I have heard (but never seen) that masts have actually moved out
of the mast foot... This would be a nightmare condition and while I am
not at all an expert here, I suspect the shims add stability to the
rig. I have not heard of folks leaving these out before. Russ, I guess
the good news is it is easy to remove your mast boot and insert shims!
Mine were oak, but I would go with rubber shims as Les recommends. Even
better of course is Spartite, which when installed correctly leaves a
lip that covers the collar (kind of like an umbrella) and sheds any
water that gets to it. I still use a boot as I did not like the look of
the blue spartite.
On another note: I have mounted the two blogs on our website for our
viewing pleasure! More are certainly welcome.
Charles Finn
Mighty Quinn #114
Les wrote:
> Long ago, rope gaskets were used to seal everything on a ship, so in
> that sense it is probably OK, but remember that if the rope is not fully
> impregnated it will eventually rot, unless it is nylon and I am not sure
> what would happen to nylon long term.
> However, the mast partners help transfer the energy from the sail to
> the boat hull. On our boats, the original design was to shim the mast
> into the partners with rubber blocks to help absorb shock loads, deal
> with flex (from the loading, and temperature affecting the fiberglass
> and wood), and transfer the constant energy to the boat's deck.
>
> With no shims, the loads are being held only by the mast step (about a
> 1/2" aluminum plate holds the foot of the mast, and locks it to the mast
> step). I suspect that over time, this would mean some issues to the
> step, but you would have to ask Frank Butler or S&S about that. Also
> shock loads may make the mast flex out of column enough to strike the
> partners, and could cause fiberglass to crack, or the partners to take
> more stress than intended. Again, the designers could say more about
> that.
>
> Russ, I don't think any yard would step the mast without securing it to
> the partners in some fashion, are you sure there are no shims in your
> installation?
>
> Regards,
> Les H
>
> On Fri, 2008-05-09 at 08:21 -0600, Max Soto wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> My boat came with rope three strand rope between the mast, deck and
>> collar. A sela of silicone is at the top preventing water to come in.
>> I had no leaks, but just in case I added mast collar seal tape.
>> Is it ok to have rope and silicone in here??
>>
>> Max
>>
>>
>> 2008/5/9, Duff, Russ (R.W.) <rduff at visteon.com>:
>> Somehow, I don't see how Spartite can make the mast partner
>> any more waterproof than a good mast boot. Am I missing
>> something? I installed a good rubber mast boot (appropriately
>> sealed) and have had no leaks. I also did not use any shims
>> when the mast was installed. Can this be a problem?
>>
>>
>>
>> Sincerely,
>> Russ Duff
>> Catalina 38, Hull #112
>> "AVANTURA"
>> Lake Erie
>> Grosse Ile, Michigan
>> RDUFF AT VISTEON DOT COM
>>
>> AVANTURA AT COMCAST DOT NET
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> From: listserve-bounces at catalina38.org
>> [mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org] On Behalf Of Steve
>> Smolinske
>> Sent: Friday, May 09, 2008 3:20 AM
>> To: hlhowell at pacbell.net; Catalina 38 Listserve
>> Subject: Re: [C38] Bedding Shrouds and leaks
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> I've been told by both the yard and the rigger to be careful
>> with spartite both commented to make sure you follow the
>> directions and apply vaseline to the inside of the deck ring.
>> If not they warned that the spartite will adhere to both the
>> mast and the ring making it extremely difficult to remove the
>> mast in the future. We just had a new boot put on when the
>> mast got stepped, if we get water problems in the future I am
>> going to use the spartite. I like the load deflection
>> characteristics along with all the reviews about how well it
>> seals.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Steve
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> From: Les
>> Sent: Thu 5/8/2008 10:24 PM
>> To: Catalina 38 Listserve
>> Subject: Re: [C38] Bedding Shrouds and leaks
>>
>>
>> On Fri, 2008-05-09 at 00:15 -0400, Charles wrote:
>> > By the way, I highly recommend Spartite. My mast and collar had taken
>> > a
>> > beating over the years with perhaps a too zealous application of mast
>> > shims. Spartite solved this problem and I no longer get any water
>> > coming in the cabin from the mast. Even better, mast stress on the
>> > deck
>> > is evenly distributed which can never happen with shims.
>>
>> I'll second that. We had water on every wet day coming into Jace. No
>> delamination or other problems, but the mess on
>> the cushions at the forward port settee on the dinette were miserable.
>> Spar-tite fixed it. And our clay dam is still inplace as well. We had
>> it done when the mast was pulled and painted. We replaced all the
>> standing rigging at that time as well.
>>
>> Someone asked about another location for leaks that caused drops near or
>> at their chain plates. On JACE the windows were leaking, and the
>> stanchions were leaking. We redid the windows (thank you Catalina
>> Direct) and rebedded the stanchions with all new hardware. The leaks
>> ceased. Last week at the boat we noticed some new drops. Checking it
>> looks like either the toe rail (I'll need help with that), or the tracks
>> for the fairleads. That I can do myself, so sometime in the next week
>> or two, I'll take that off and fix it.
>>
>> My current project is to add solar panels. I have two 65 watt Kyocera
>> panels which measuer about 30x25. I am rigging a support across the
>> center of the dodger (still cloth) which will hold a 1" stainless rail
>> onto which I will clamp the solar panels. This will add about 25lbs or
>> so to the dodger, but should be well within limits. The wind loading
>> would not seem to be too great as a 2" stainless pipe stand with 1"
>> cross bar is one of the options for most solar installations for panels
>> up to 60" x 24", so mine should present less than 1/4 that in wind
>> loading because they will be shielded by the dodger and mast. Time will
>> tell.
>>
>> I like Max's rigid vang, and that may be one of our next purchases.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Les H
>> JACE
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Max Soto
>> C38 #198 ESTANCIA
>> Puntarenas, Costa Rica
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>
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