Mast re-furbishment advice needed

[anon]

Hello. I recently purchased an 87MY 34 that is in overall great condition except for the mast. The surveyor suggested that I should waste no time in getting the mast re-painted although its condition was not detrimental to the survey and price. I would like more experienced owners opinions on what I should do. Let me explain a little: I am currently in work but may be out of work next year and living aboard my boat, hopefully cruising the west coast a little. It has been suggested that I scrape and paint the mast now and have it removed at the yard next time the boat is hauled. I am inclined to get it done properly during the summer so that the mast will be well protected for the winter. I am attaching a couple of pics from above decks along with a below decks and a shot of the spreaders. No sharp intakes of breath please. I am fragile.
Thank you in advance. Kim

[rmbrown]

It took me maybe 5 weekends and a couple hundred bucks to do mine, but I didn't have that much bubbling of paint.  You'd probably need some zinc chromate primer too (I got a little from a friend to get my bare spots, but you are going to need more.

[Jon W]

My 2 cents -

Stripping and repainting the 50 feet of mast (keel stepped mast boats) is thousands of dollars where I live. May be different where you are. If it isn't, my advice is to pull the mast, address the corrosion by hand sanding, then spot paint with the attached process I found on line. It worked great.

The materials I used are as follows:

   INTERLUX 216 Special Thinner (Y216/QT)
   INTERLUX Brightside Pre-Kote Primer, White, Quart (Y4279?QT)
   INTERLUX Brightside One-Part Polyurethane Paint, White, Quart (Y4359/QT)

A benefit to pulling the mast is to check that the internal conduit is solidly attached and fix if not, check masthead sheaves, check your lights and instruments or add new LED, etc...

[Noah]

I would also inspect your standing rigging, which has a lifespan of approx. 15 yrs (+/-), and probably replace, especially, if as you indicated, you plan to cruise.

[anon]

Thank you Jon, Noah. I guess I also need to know just how bad my mast appears to be?

[Noah]

It doesn't look pretty, but I wouldn't get hung up on the cosmetics. Looks like it needs sanding, prime and paint. Which can cost anywhere from $6,000 (+/-) professionally done, to a few hundred $ with and lots of man hours, as a DYI. However, I would concentrate more on whether it is structurally sound (which it probably is) but no one can tell you that by photos. It will require hands on inspection by someone who knows. ALMOST anything can be repaired/renewed.

[anon]

Thanks Noah.

[Jon W]

The mast is aluminum with a robust cross section, but as Noah said we can't tell structural soundness from photos. Someone reputable needs to see it in person.

In the second photo there is a large section where paint appears to have peeled off in a sheet. That points to improper prep, primer, and paint by someone. A poor paint job would also explain the severe blistering near the SST fittings as well. You may just have a bad paint job.

[anon]

I have not had much luck finding somebody to "patch" the mast this summer. (My concept was to get some protection on the mast before the winter).
Bearing in mind that I intend to pull the mast next spring how bad would it be to leave the mast as is until then? (Please look at the pictures I posted at the beginning of the thread and note that I do not plan on sailing this year).

[Stu Jackson]

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Bearing in mind that I intend to pull the mast next spring how bad would it be to leave the mast as is until then? (Please look at the pictures I posted at the beginning of the thread and note that I do not plan on sailing this year).

None at all.  As per previous comments, it is cosmetic, not structural.  A few years ago Commodore Rick Allen and I were attending our marina's tenant celebration day, and noticed a C34 for sale in the adjoining yard.   We also noticed two young ladies who went aboard to look aroundm, so we joined them.     We helped them check the boat and the engine out.  Everything looked good, and it appeared that most of the Critical Upgrades had been addressed, too.   The ONLY thing that was odd was delamination of most of the mast paint, mostly in the cabin (keel stepped mast) and some abovedecks.  Just like your pictures.  As the salesman came back aboard, I quickly changed my "This is a great boat, you should buy it," to "What a wreck, we'll give you the long sorry list so you can bargain properly."   

They bought the boat and have reported back that they are very happy and had no issues with refinishing the mast paint.