Re:re cal 39 mast step, etc.

Hey fellas, Just read all your messages about the Cal 39 mast step. As luck would have it (or bad luck), we've just been dealing with the same thing, and we've discovered a bit about the mast and step. First, there is no weep hole in the Cal 39 mast, unless you have the wires coming down a track at the aft of the mast and exiting right at the bottom. Then, by default, you have a weep hole. Last spring, we had our mast pulled, cleaned, put in a new track for radar and radio and so forth that exits from the port side five inches above the mast step, and unthinkingly sealed up the old track (and weep hole). That created a bit of a problem this winter, because water seeped so slowly that it began soaking the subfloor under the sole. Second, because the boat yard fucked up the collar as well, it leaked like a seive this winter while we were away, and we eventually got the yard to accept responsibility and fix the problem. As a part of the fix, the mast was unstepped again. This time the yard properly cleaned the step (they had not the first time), since the sole and subfloor forward of the mast had to be pulled as well to replace it (the sole destroyed by the leaking in January), we discovered a mess in the forward bilge area. The mast step was aluminum, with stainless bolts - the corrosion was horrendous, and corroded materials along with dirt and other junk had clogged up the exit from the forward bilge into the main bilge. (All this is described with some photos in our maintenance log at http://cal-39-2-maintenance-logs.blogspot.com/). We replaced the old mast step with a custom G-10 Epoxy step - modeled on the old one. It will out last the boat and all of us, I'm sure. As to the steel beam - it's encased in fiberglass - one can only hope there's no corrosion - I doubt it because the aluminum step took the corrosion. The new step bolted down easily where the original step had been. Paul, I don't know what year your Adventure Kwest is. Mine is a 1980, hull #105. I have a list of all the Cal owners I know of. Email me off line and I'll send it to you and perhaps you can add yourself. I hope to get it on line this summer. Just so much to do and so little time. Oh yes, the fellow Cal owner who gave the talk last year at Caltopia was Mike Serpan (ms… [at] mac.com). He had a lot of great ideas for sailing the Cal 39 off shore. Good luck on your fix. Fair winds, Jim Williams Spindrift Cal 39-2 (#105) 1980 San Francisco CA *************************** James Williams 650-575-9825 (mobile) http://cal39.blogspot.com