[Rhodes22-list] Reconnecting the Tabernacle Screws Following Sacrificial Failure

[Jesse Shumaker]

Great job Chris!  Thanks so much for sharing the details of your repair
work.

Jesse Shumaker
S/V Zephyr

On Thu, Sep 3, 2020 at 6:01 PM Chris on LBI <cknell at vt.edu> wrote:

> Repair of the Holes
> I made the repair and we successfully re-stepped the mast a few weeks ago.
> As requested, I'll provide a summary.
>
> I opted to fill the holes with epoxy. This decision was based primarily on
> the advice to consider the possibility of rotational torque (should
> something go awry while raising or lowering the mast) and the feedback that
> only one owner had experienced significant damage to the cabin top after
> making this sort of repair. However, I did NOT make the holes larger in
> diameter below the fiberglass. That is, the new epoxy plugs should not take
> much fiberglass with them should they pull out of the wood block. I did
> scrape the very small amount of soft wood off the edges of the holes; there
> did not seem to be any evidence of water infiltration; the wood block below
> the fiberglass seemed very solid.
>
> I opted to stay with the 1” screws and used JB Weld epoxy. I don't have
> much
> experience with epoxy, and was pleased to discover that I had about 5
> minutes to work with the liquid epoxy before it ceased to flow well. I
> taped
> off the area immediately around each of the holes to prevent any unwanted
> epoxy from getting on the gelcoat. I did not fill the holes flush with the
> top of the gelcoat, but more like up to the approximate top of the
> fiberglass.
>
> While the epoxy was starting to setup (about 10 minutes after I had filled
> the holes), and using the tabernacle plate as a guide, I put a small piece
> of spaghetti in the center of each of the epoxy-filled holes reasoning that
> these would provide a good guide for the drill bit. I let the epoxy harden
> for about 3 hours then snapped the tops off the spaghetti pieces and
> drilled
> out the pasta with a small bit giving me a precisely-located pilot hole. I
> then ran a larger bit into the holes and gently threaded the screws into
> the
> holes to tap the epoxy before it got really hard. I then backed the screws
> out and let the epoxy cure for a day before attaching the plate with the
> screws.
>
> A few days later the mast raising went well. Since we were still on the
> water, we picked a calm morning with minimal boat traffic. All went really
> well until the mast was vertical when my mate noticed that the genoa was on
> the wrong side of the spreader and was routed through the triangle bordered
> by the mast, the upper shroud, and the spreader. When I had replaced the
> upper shroud, I had locked the bottom half of the genoa on the aft side of
> the spreader. I was told that we were not lowering the mast to correct the
> problem … find another solution. I was pleased to find that a 7' ladder
> placed on the cabin top and tied securely to the mast allowed me to climb
> up
> and easily remove the pin from the base of the spreader, pull the spreader
> out of its seat, move the genoa forward of the spreader, and replace the
> spreader and pin. I was up on the ladder less than 5 minutes. I was
> surprised how comfortable it was.
>
> Another note: The rigger who built the new shrouds recommended that
> replacement shrouds be up-sized to 5/32 inch from the standard 1/8 inch. He
> is very familiar with the regular winds that we get in this area and
> thought
> that 1/8 was too small.
>
> I've attached some photos showing the progress of the repair. I also
> attached a screen-shot of the output from the weather station located near
> the boat. It shows the 73 mph gust that broke the upper  shroud and damaged
> a lower aft shroud. As you can see, it was an unusual gust in that wind
> speed went suddenly from about 15 mph to 73 mph.
>
> One final round of thanks to all who provided input in helping me fix this
> problem and get back on the water. We've since had a few really good
> afternoons on Little Egg Harbor.
>
> <http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t902/IMG_0639.jpg>
> <http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t902/IMG_0693.jpg>
> <http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t902/IMG_0694.jpg>
> <http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t902/IMG_0707.jpg>
> <http://rhodes-22.1065344.n5.nabble.com/file/t902/IMG_0620.png>
>
>
>
>
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