[Public-List] cracked mast step

[via Public-List]

Hello my friends at the Alberg 30 Assoc.,
 
I took Stargazer's winter cover off today, and while most was in order,  
there was one very alarming discovery; the aluminum mast step casting had  
cracked over the winter.
 
There is one crack that goes directly across the fitting, just in front of  
the raised area that goes up into the heel of the mast, and another that  
goes from the port aft bolt slot to the outboard edge of the fitting.  Both 
cracks are full thickness.
 
I would like to think I would have noticed these cracks last fall, as  
quickly as I noticed them today, so I think they occurred over the winter.  
That's strange, since I unstepped the mast for the winter, so there was no force 
 on the fitting at all. The 'Bright Side' is that it happened now, and not 
while  Stargazer was sailing.
 
Stargazer, #255,  1967, is of the old non-hull liner, vertical toe  rail, 
hull and deck configuration. The fitting is 50 years old. It should never  
have been made of cast aluminum in the first place. It's amazing it lasted 
this  long.
 
Has this happened to anyone else's Alberg 30, and if so, how have they  
replaced the fitting?
 
When we bought Stargazer back in 1997, the mast step was fastened in the  
middle of it's adjustment; the fitting bolts were basically in the middle of  
their slots. I wanted to see if the bolts were free, in case I wanted to 
adjust  the mast step position. The bolts were frozen then, and as Stargazer 
balanced  nicely I never had to pursue it. I am sure the bolts have not 
gotten any free-er  since. Are there any tricks you guys have come up with over 
the years to free  the bolts up? Stainless steel in aluminum is never happy.
 
I really thought I didn't have any major projects to do this spring.  :)
thx,
Lee