Bent Mast

[SLP 61]

How big of a problem is this? Straighten? Replace? Ignore?

[Jimmyt]

Looks like it's bent above the shroud attachment point. Doesn't look too bad. I'd try to straighten it. Cold bend it. Go in small steps. Use two trees or other fixed objects that give you the right spacing. Pad it to prevent scratching if you use anything rough.

Also, see this thread:

viewtopic.php?t=28170

[OverEasy]

Hi SLP 61!

Sorry to hear that!
Aluminum is fairly ductile but that being said you don’t want to dent or collapse the tube either when attempting to staighten the thing!
That could be worse!

I’d suggest that you make a pair conforming hard wood blocks about 3x or 5x the diameter of the mast with a “very” slight crown. Place one at the bend and the other at the other leverage point to protect the tube shape if you were to leverage the mast between two fixed objects. It would also be a good idea to try the leveraging in small increments and checking frequently to avoid over shooting.

Good luck

Best Regards
Over Easy

[Stickinthemud57]

That's a very long, sweeping bend. Straightening it will, IMO, require spreading the load out over a very long section, perhaps using long sections of 2x4 or 2x6 lumber. I straightened the mast on my Hunter 170 using a variety of methods. Go slow and try to avoid over-correcting, or concentrating the bend in too short an area.

[Russ]

Could also be your starboard shroud is too tight. Or the shackle is not straight.

What does it look like if you loosen the stays?

[Jimmyt]

Russ brings up a great point. Have you pulled a string on it, or sighted down it when it's not up? It looked to me like it's bent above the upper attachment point. But, after Russ's post, I looked again and can't be sure. If the lowers are pulling to starboard and the uppers to port, it could certainly put a curve in it. Looking close at the photo, the port upper looks different from the starboard. Certainly worth dropping the mast and taking a closer look at the rigging and verifying that it's actually bent when there's no rig tension on it.

[adudinsk]

I have the same issue.
I talked with many people and most will find the center point of each bend...
Place sand bags on each end of the bend
And load it down in the center. Look up Hobie Cat mast straightening
I have seen one document where the person used straight metal beams.. and strapped to it with ratchet straps until straight.
In one post (a year ago) I found a person/company that made a roller system.. that you feed the mast (used for other masts) into .. and you crank it through and it was straight.

I would just leave it.

Does your mast rotate well? Or does it flip to one side?

[Jimmyt]

How big of a problem is this? Straighten? Replace? Ignore?

Do you know the history of this mast? If you know how it got bent, that can guide how you should straighten it (should you so choose).

Please share the story if it's actually bent and you know how it happened,

[adudinsk]

I was told it was stored incorrectly over the winter.. other masts/who knows were piled on it for my mast
Then she got bent.