My worst nightmare has come true... The mast hit a tree branch and broke 20 feet up. That left the forestay slack and the whole thing came crashing the ground
Anyway shipping a mast from the US would be unbelievably expensive so I'm talking to a local mast supplier. I'm looking at this as an opportunity to update a few things and I'm aware that the 26M had an early and a late version of the mast. As mine was a 2004 can some please explain whats new on the later mast and maybe post up some pictures?
I'm especially interested in where the sail slides go into the track.
Also, does anyone know if the engineering diagram od the mast cross section (from the Mac website) is of the newer or older mast?
I am aware that the mast differs from the mast. The swivels on the base, but I am not aware of the mast's specifications changing over its production run. Maybe someone else knows better
Someone on here repaired their mast with a wood internal splint, I am not sure where I seen that but I do remember reading about the repair. You may look for that post if you have both parts it may be a way to go.
Neo wrote:Hi Guys,
My worst nightmare has come true... The mast hit a tree branch and broke 20 feet up. That left the forestay slack and the whole thing came crashing the ground
Anyway shipping a mast from the US would be unbelievably expensive so I'm talking to a local mast supplier. I'm looking at this as an opportunity to update a few things and I'm aware that the 26M had an early and a late version of the mast. As mine was a 2004 can some please explain whats new on the later mast and maybe post up some pictures?
I'm especially interested in where the sail slides go into the track.
Also, does anyone know if the engineering diagram od the mast cross section (from the Mac website) is of the newer or older mast?
Will keep it in mind but I rather not do anything like that... if the top 10 feet broke off again while sailing I think it could be very nasty.
BTW the deck sustained minimum damaged because the top 10 feet bent at right angle and hit the ground before the rest of the mast hit the deck... The name of my Mac takes on a completely new meaning in this photo lol!
If anyone would know if there were any changes to the mast, it would be BWY. Send them an e-mail. They are very gracious people. Ask them. [email protected]. Tell them your predicament, and where you are. They just may have some information which will help. Direct your inquiry to Todd.
People tend to overlook their boat insurance when something embarrassing happens, which results in damage to the boat. Not sure if you have insurance, or how the policies work where you live, but when I had that "worst nightmare" happen, and managed to break my mast, I contacted my insurance carrier, Boat US, explained the situation, and was told to file a claim. Except for the deductible, they covered the entire cost of replacing the mast, damaged anchor light, and related items, including labor. If you have insurance, I'm guessing they should cover it and help you avoid making unnecessarily undesirable compromises in getting back to sailing.
the first production 2004 had a bigger "wider" mast up until 2007 I believe then they went down to the next size smaller same eye drop or pear shape just slightly smaller diam. there for lighter also, I do not think anything else was changed I believe all drill holed mounting r the same , another rigging change was the spreaders were changed from I think 40" long to 44" long most likely @ the same time to accommodate more support for the lighter mast
Looks like a clean "break". I would look into locals that could repair it. A sleeve maybe? That would be what I'd look at first.
Then...the mast isn't magical. Surely a spar could be sourced locally that could be fitted.
Best of luck. Tell us what you find as a solution.
A proper repair with an aluminum sleeve (although increasing weight aloft a bit) and welding will result in a stronger mast than the old one was, or a new one will be (in that area). It will break somewhere else (farther up or down) or not break at all if the same catastrophe happens again. Assuming the rest of the mast is straight and not bent.
Thanks guys. It is insured but they want to see the quotes first before they commit.
Yes I've started talking to BYW (mainly about replacement fittings) but they tell me the Mac mast is 4.5" deep (front to back) and the ones they do now are 5" deep... which requires an updated base and top cap.
I may end up with a 5" deep mast as that profile is easier to source... Would this have a negative impact in any way?
FYI The came from the factory as a two sectional mast 2 - 12ft sections with an alum splice insert , when I extended my mast from 24ft to 28ft . Purchased a section of used mast and an new mast splice from my dealer who just happened to have one laying around I made my new mast a 12ft bottom section , a 8ft mid section & a 8ft top section & never had any issues with it http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j95/m ... an0002.jpg
The mast on the M model is too light in my opinion. Go with the larger 5 inch mast if it's available and they have the parts for it. They probably tried to reduce weight aloft by lightening the mast but it's a bad trade off.
If bwy no longer stocks the original mast that should tell us something.
Ix
A well made splice will also work just fine. In fact if it happened to me I might be inclined to have the sections easily removable thus shortening the mast overhang when it's stowed on deck.
What about buying a whole donor boat for a new mast?
I've bought and sold a lot of scrap boats, and I ran no less than 4 different mast configurations on a Vn23 while i played around and setup what I felt worked best for me.
I bent one on a tree pulling out of the ramp, so we just pulled it off and put on one from a 22 O'day and it was the same.
Now that we have the X I still have a spare VN23 mast on hooks for just in case... Realized that the mast extrusion of the Vn23 and the mast currently on my X are the same height and diameter...
just a thought... usually can buy a rotten hull for cheap will come with what you need
mast differs from the 
mast. The 
came from the factory as a two sectional mast 2 - 12ft sections with an alum splice insert , when I extended my 
