During a recent storm, the weather station located where we keep our R22
recorded a short, briefly sustained wind speed of 73 mph. The following
morning I discovered that the upper starboard shroud had parted just above
the turnbuckle. In lowering the mast this morning so that I could remove the
remainder of the shroud as a template for fabrication, I demonstrated that
the mast step screws properly do their job; they released as designed with a
disturbing “pop” when one of the shrouds fouled as the mast was being
lowered. Upon examination of the three holes in the deck, it appears that,
based on the shape of the holes, the screws had released themselves at some
time in the past; each of the three holes is oblong. There is also some
“spider” cracking radiating out from each of the holes (approximately 1 to 2
inches in length). I have attached a photo.

I cleaned out the holes and found that while there were some soft pieces of
wood in the hole, it does not seem that the wood at the sides of the holes
is soft. My understanding from prior reading on this list is that the
generally recommended repair is to fill the holes with epoxy and to then
drill new holes for the three stainless screws, putting caulk in the holes
prior to the screws to prevent water infiltration.

I'm looking to the list for advice as to what the thinking would be with
regard to repair of these spider cracks. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Mast_Step_Mount.jpg




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Long Beach Island
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