Ugly Mast Step

[Canadaler]

I was checking out a boat on the weekend. It's been sitting for years.

Here is what I found when I checked out the mast step on the keel:






The step itself...which appears to be a standard aluminum 6" channel, is obviously toast and needs replacement.

The plywood adjacent to it on the port side is warped and swollen and will need to be replaced as well.

There is what appears to be a "ground" strap ??? going from the step to the adjacent keel bolt. The step was covered in a good 1/4" of aluminum oxide from the step and probably inside of the mast as well. I never thought of it until after I left (several hours drive from my house to the boat) that this channel must somehow be bolted down to the keel itself...hidden under all that oxide crap??? (Being the first keel step mast arrangement I've seen didn't exactly help.)

I'm guessing that this is primarily the result of a leaking mast boot at deck level.

I can make up another channel section, threaded SS rod and repair the adjacent plywood...anything else that would be involved in this? Are there counter-sunk bolts going into the keel that are going to be a problem?

Comments/suggestions welcome.

[ccriders]

Pearson 28's have a problem with mast steps sitting in water resulting in corrosion of the mast base, etc. not unlike your pictures. One thing different is that there is no bare plywood at the mast step as all wood parts in the bilge are fully glassed over. At the Yahoo owners group for the P28, there is a discussion and photos of fixes to the problem which involves a new mast step made of inert materials that raises the step a few inches above the original location. How well this works I do not know. I would guess that this problem is common to all boats with keel stepped masts that are not maintained and bilges kept dry.
Your photos show some pretty serious damage that could easily go beyond what you can see. I would proceed with caution on this one.
John

[Canadaler]

Thanks for the info.

After looking over all my pictures today I'm going to pass on it. This is just one of many issues...too many issues...probably all "fixable" but I don't have the time for it.