Mast Wedges Falling Out in Salon

[Rees]

If one's mast wedges fall out on to the salon table or floor how does one determine how to put them back so that they continue doing their job?  Does wedges falling out mean that my mast may need to be retuned before replacing the wedges?  I've read about replacing the wedges with rope, and silicon glue, can this be done from the inside and is it a btter option than the wedges? If one's mast wedges fall out what information does one use to determine how to put them back so that they continue doing their job?  Does this mean that my mast need to be retuned before replacing the wedged?

[Patches]

Rees:

I share your frustration.  Since purchasing my boat 5 years ago I have tried different solutions for this.  When I added a new forestay for the new Harken fuller a couple of years ago, the rigger tuned the rig to where it is supposed to be.  That left the mast  not centered in the partners with bigger gaps on some sides than on the other.  I trust this rigger, and my only conclusion is that the hole in the deck in the deck mold on my boat wasn't well matched with the step in the hull mold.  That, coupled with the sound of wood wedges creaking in the partners while sailing, made me try rubber door wedges instead.  The result is disappointing, as they tend to work upward through the flexible boot.

So I'm going with Spartite.  I've purchased the kit (smaller size) but I'm waiting for the right 2 day window to install it.  You might consider the same.  I believe Alex (Waughoo) used Spartite on his rig and has been happy with the results. I'm sure he'll chime in as he is a frequent contributor and dedicated problem solver.

Patches

[waughoo]

Spartite would definitely be my suggestion there.  It is similar to the material bowling balls are made of.  It is a pretty simple process, but one needs to have everything set up in advance as it kicks off quickly and it is a bit of a tight spot to work in.  Make sure to use the Vaseline provided in the kit on the partners otherwise it won't pop out of the deck the next time you go to un step the mast.  My mast is very quiet under sail and looks very tidy from the saloon below.  I am a happy customer.

[Ron Hill]

Rees : When I had my mast out to do some rewiring and add a Hinkley TV antenna. I made 6 new (slightly larger) wedges out of pressure treated hard wood. Not the factory's 4 made out of soft teak!! They really have held up well for 25 years.

NO creaking as I tapped them in with a hammer after I tuned the mast.

A few thoughts

[Eisensail]

My wedges all cracked, and then pushed up through the boot. I cut 4 new wedges and tapped them in place. Then to finish the job I followed a suggestion from Stu Jackson, which was to use scrap line and 3M sealant seated in the space between the mast and partners.   Never leaked a drop last year during our California winter when it actually rained a lot!  Wished I had done this years ago before the leaking water caused the paint on the interior mast section to bubble 

Phil Eisenberg
1990 c34 mk1.5

[High Current]

Wait are they supposed to go in from the bottom?  I hammered them in from the top, then squeezed the boot over.  Rookie move on my part?  It seems to work/fit so far.

My mast is also canted toward the back of the hole such that the table doesn't fit in the lower (sleeping) position.  But I don't see a way to fix that without tightening the forestay, i.e. taking the furler apart, so that's presumably an off-season fix...

[Noah]

Mine are hammered in from the top.

[Eisensail]

Wedges go in from the top, like shown in the pic posted by Noah. 
It  was the larger end of the wedge that poked up through the boot on my boat.

[Ron Hill]

Guys : Like I mentioned the new wedges that I made were slightly "thicker", made out of hard wood (pressure treated yellow pine) and I increased from 4 to 6 wedges.

Naturally they were put in from the top ( boot raised!!) and then I put the sunbrella cover back over the boot to keep the UV off (and eventually cracking the boot)!!

A few thoughts

[Phil Spicer]

 I cut some new wedges from oak. Cut different thickness wedges because the mast is not perfectly centered. So you can put thicker on one side and thinner on the other side. Put 1" to 1-1/2" wedges on the sides and3/4" wedges around the corners. Fill the perimeter with wedges and nothing moves. Works for me.
Just some more thoughts
   Phil

[Patches]

I just applied the Spartite solution to my mast partners.  As mentioned above, the tuned mast is not centered (side to side) in the deck collar.  It is about 3X wider on the port side than on starboard.  Spacing is fairly even fore and aft.

The "small" size Spartite kit has more than enough material to complete the "plug" on our Mark 1s.  It comes with everything you need, and the directions are very good.  I did have to use some 2" Blue painter's tape for a dam above the lip of the collar.  Spartite recommends that you pour 1/4" above the height of the collar, and the tape allows you to do that.  Otherwise, everything you need is in the kit.

As with every project, the lengthiest part was the prep. I removed the old boot which was the flexible, sticky type and the tape which finished it off.  It took a fair amount of time to remove this material from the mast with a plastic blade scraper and adhesive residue remover.  This was followed by building the "floor" for the pour with the supplied modeling clay.  This took several hours because of the narrow space on the starboard side of the partners, and a desire to make the floor as smooth and even as possible.

Then vaseline is applied to the inside of the collar and the clay floor to act as a release agent when/if the mast is pulled.

The mixing of the 2 part material is pretty straightforward and, as Alex says above, goes quickly.  If I have any advice, it is (1) to avoid pouring during any wind and (2) have a plastic measuring cup to pour the material into the narrower side of the partners.  Although Spartite claims that the material is self leveling, it is also the consistency of molasses.  So when I started pouring, it started to pile/pool on the wider port side of the mast because it's thickness took awhile to get around to the thinner starboard side.  Having a 2 cup measuring cup with a spout allowed me to pour into the thinner starboard side which facilitated the "self leveling."

As I was pouring some wind came up and blew a little bit of the material on to the deck.  I had placed an old towel around the area to pick up any drips and this turned out to be a good idea.  However, the wind got ahold of some of the material and it ended up on the deck.  This is cleaned up with alcohol or acetone--not paint thinner.

The finished product inspires confidence that the mast will neither move in the partners nor leak. It needs 48 hours to fully cure.  I'm finishing off the project with a new boot.  Spartite says you should protect the exposed material with some form of cover, and that you can simply paint it if you'd like.

So far, so good.

Patches

[waughoo]

Thanks for the detailed write up Scott.  I have found that mine dribbled a bit of water in a good rain.  The spartite instructions (or perhaps somewhere on the web) suggested a bead of sealant at the joint between the mast and spartite.  I also found that my spartite has a cup at the tape dam edge that holds a bit of water.  I still haven't removed it but figure a rasp to file this down would work.

Additionally, the spartite needs to be protected.  One can either paint with enamel model paint or put a uv protectant mast boot on.