[Public-List] Mast Beam Variation

[J Bergquist]

Jeff-

Quantify what you mean by 'failure' in this context. If you mean
catastrophic failure (mast going through the boat) then I for one have
not heard of this. That doesn't mean it hasn't happened. Just that I
don't know about it.

If you mean slow, steady, creeping failure of the beam over time such
that you can't close the cabin door any more, then I think these
started happening back in the 70's (when the original repair was
designed by Mr. Rankin).

I suspect that when the beam fails is a function mostly of the boat's
usage pattern. Many boats do a lot of sitting and not a lot of
sailing. Boats that get sailed a lot are probably going to experience
beam failure earlier than boats that sit at the dock a lot. So that is
why some boats fail earlier and others later (of course, it's not the
only factor, because no doubt the glue used to make these beams
probably drops off in strength as a function of age, maybe temperature
cycles, maybe UV exposure I don't know I'm making this up as I go
along).

If you want to go to the trouble of ripping out your beam and
re-laminating a new one and installing that, then have at it. To me it
seems like an awful lot of work to undertake, especially given the
existence of a well-documented and successful repair method which was
designed by a professional and which many people have used over the
years. Also, the aluminum plate sister method will take you 2 days to
complete. I can't imagine completing a re-lamination or fresh
lamination of a new beam in that kind of time. But maybe you are much
faster worker than I am.

I suppose if you are very confident in your skills and confident that
you have the chutzpah to undertake a project like this and see it
through to completion, then have at it. However, I think we have all
seen people undertake boat projects that are a little bigger than the
well-intentioned undertaker (no pun intended) initially estimated.
Sometimes these things result in an incomplete or less than excellent
result. People reading this list (well, by that I mean me and some of
the other Albergers I know) think it's sad to see boats be subjected
to these kinds of things, and I htink that might be the source of some
of the resistance you are hearing. Also, when you modify your boat,
especially when it is a boat with the kind of staying power that these
boats have, you should consider not only your needs but the needs of
future owners. Most of us have, from time to time, cursed our previous
owners for things they did which were less than ideal. I know I have.
So if you make this repair and it comes apart for the next owner or
the owner after that, how will that make you feel? How confident are
you in your skills that you are really up to the task of doing a job
like this at least as well as Alberg and Whitby (who were
professionals that stayed in business for several decades...clearly
they knew something about what they were doing...)

Heck for all I know you're a boat builder by trade. If so, knock yourself out.

Ultimately, if you have a good idea, you should vet it, make sure you
believe in it, and if you have the confidence to undertake it, then go
for it. There are always people who will say 'nay'. But fortune favors
the bold, so if you're bold enough to make it happen, best of luck! We
just don't want to see you do something you might regret later.

If you do undertake this repair I would love to see pix!

Kind regards,

J Bergquist

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