[alberg30] mast-step repair

[Tom Sutherland]

From: Tom Sutherland <tomsu at uky.campuscw.net>

Joe ... I felt the same way as you when I first removed mine and after
thinking about it I concluded there is no real need to hold the mast Plate
down , the mast and rigging will serve this purpose. I have decided the main
thing these six screws need to do is to prevent the step from moving
laterally. I believe these bolts  protruding through the bottom of the plate
serve as spikes , and when they were set in wet glass , as I believe they were
, they can serve this purpose well while cutting down on the potential for
leaks.


I did think it necessary to repair the threads in the plate due to the
reaction of the aluminum to the SS screws. I elected to Helicoil them using SS
threaded inserts. In fact I did all ten holes in the mast plate. the deck on
#412 was in remarkably good shape so I can't speak to the rest of your
project.


Joe Tokarz wrote:

2) After removing the mast-step plate I noticed that the six screws in this

> plate are screwed into the deck. How are they held there, were they screwed
> into fresh fiberglass? What kind of holding strength is that? I literally
> peeled the plate off with the screws still attached using a screwdriver as
> a pry bar. Has anyone ever thru bolted the mast-plate thru the deck? What
> do you think about that? Or maybe glassing the bolts in upside down so they
> can have nuts screwed on them topsides?(I think Scott Murry "Bill of
> Rites"did this.) What should I do?





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