Prodigal repair Mizzen Mast fix

7.2.9 Kemah, from the water... My sailboat is a Morgan 462, built in 1980. The original boat design had the mizzen mast sitting on the bathroom floor. (bolted down on the wood floor) After about 30 years it finally rotted through the wood and was falling through the floor boards. So, for safety, function and general maintenance i had the Mizzen fixed this week.

First; you go in and cut out the old rotted wood. then you cut new 'good wood' filler pieces to install in the gap. (like a dentist fills a cavity) plus you add additional parallel boards for more support. then you mix up epoxy to glue everything together. then give it 24 hours to harden.

Second; Fit all the parts together to check the fit. get a carpenters Plane and plane down all the high spots so that it's all level. then wood glue and epoxy everything plus several screws to bolt it all down. in addition you throw in a 'fiberglass pad' that the mast boot drills into. (take 5 separate 1/4" thick fiberglass plates and glue them together into a very heavy solid base for the mast to sit on. it's massive and sits across all the support beams and cant rot.)

Last; after giving it another 24 hours for all the epoxy and glue to harden you pilot the sailboat back over to the marina so a crane can lower the mast back into place. then all the rigging is reattached and it's again a sailboat.

To check the rigging he tied his drill to the halyard, thus creating a plum bob. then he would slowly tighten each side till they measured the same distance. (this gets the Masthead centered over it's base. makes the mast straight and tight.)

It's just another little slice of heaven here! Every day is Saturday and the world is at Peace.

- Pirate Skip