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Mast Step Problem

2K views 14 replies 3 participants last post by  bobmcgov 
#1 · (Edited)
I was given an Ocean Yachts Islands 17. The mast plate is missing. Searching for one that resembles the specs has proven fruitless. The specs are also not detailed enough to indicate exactly how it attaches to the mast. There is also a chance the tongue on the bottom of the mast is damaged but without having seen how it is supposed to be, I can't know for sure. Obviously, if I can't step the mast, this boat is useless to me. So, I am hoping to find someone who has the same boat who would be willing to take pix of the bottom of the mast with and without the base plate. We can fabricate the plate if we knew what it should look like, how it should attach to the mast and whether or not the mast base is as it should be. Ideally, of course, I'd purchase the plate if I could find one.
I am new to sailing and not very familiar with the online community, so if you'd also be willing to spread the word, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
 
#2 ·
I'll move this to Gear and Maintenance..

Posting some pictures will be helpful, difficult to imagine what fittings are there otherwise.
 
#3 ·
Here is a link to the boat specs. It is a PDF. The specs are actually from the Sumner version of the boat but the mast step picture seems consistent with the earlier model made by OY. I definitely have the OY model - the company's plate is still on the boat.

I tried to post the pix but the forum is not allowing me to do so, since I have posted less than 10 times.
 
#4 ·
Just type out the URL with DOT instead of "." and we can sort it out.
 
#7 ·
Looks like you're missing another piece of channel that fits INSIDE the one in the hull, that would be hinged on that pin at the back end. What's odd is I don't see any holes in the block at the foot of the mast to pin it to the missing channel piece... Anyhow the two channel pieces would make a hinge that allows you to lean the mast back to lower it, and vice versa.

I've inserted the real link into your post so maybe someone's got more specific information. Good luck. A metal fabricator should be able to help out, or try googling "Rig Rite" as a resource.
 
#10 ·
Thanks. ....If we could determine how it was attached to the mast, we'd have far less of a problem :(
Maybe stop blocks in front and behind the mast foot.. probably adjustable within that inner channel..

Looks like your friendly local metal shop (or highschool?) is your next stop..
 
#11 ·
From what I am gathering from different sources, is that the missing portion of the hinged plate is strictly to facilitate the ease of raising the mast and has little to do with the actual mounting of the mast. A friend suggested the mast will sit nicely in the mast step without the part and I can use the pin holes on the mast step to keep the mast from sliding fore and aft. One of the bolts that secures the step to the deck is slightly raised, so I am wondering if the missing hinge piece was missing for a very long time and a previous owner did that intentionally to stop the mast from sliding to the fore. I am also missing one of the pins, so this theory makes sense in that way.
 
#12 ·
Yes, I agree you could make that work.. You might want some side shims to keep the mast centered in the channel, but it just means you'll have less stability raising and lowering the mast - but it's a small mast.;)
 
#13 ·
I don't think side shims are needed. The tongue width is the same as the inner dimensions of the mast step.
I have come to the conclusion that in spite of things I've read, Sumner Yachts did indeed change the boat after they bought it from Ocean Yachts and that would explain why the specs are inaccurate
 
#14 · (Edited)
ok .... so I think the pieces have all come together.

My boat was made by Ocean Yachts. They were bought out by Sumner Yachts. I was under the impression that they continued making the boat, "as is". The specs I got online are from Sumner and not OY. Apparently, the OY model did not have a hinged mast step setup, which the Sumner specs indicated it had. So, Sumner did indeed change the boat. The model I have is merely a mast step and the pins were used to center the mast tongue and keep it from sliding fore and aft.
I had wondered how a hinged setup would work, anyway, since the centerboard console would be in the way of raising the mast in this way. Someone else also pointed this out.

Thanks for all your help!
 
#15 ·
Yep. What you have there is a tenon mast heel or plug, which is made to fit into that channel and be held roughly captive by pins thru the drilled channel on the cockpit sole. That particular setup is made today by RWO and sold by APS.

APS - Other Spar Manufacturers & Parts

(Scroll down to part R2010)

Here's a similar setup by Super Spars: Part 040 plugs into part 018.

Raising the mast requires muscling the sucker upright, but once the stays are attached, it isn't going anywhere.

If you want a hinged system, you can either try a pin & tabernacle type:

HERE

Or remove the tenon heel and add a hinged plate, which would be easy enuf. You'd need to shape a plug (wood, Fiberglass plate, or HDPE) to fit snugly into the base of the mast, maybe an inch thick. Screw that in place thru the spar sides, then your mast plate screws to the plug. Once up, nearly all the force on the mast is compression.

Dwyer Hinged Mast Plates - Stainless Steel - Mast Plates & Steps - Spar Hardware - Sailboat Hardware & Rigging - Downwind Marine
 
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