New mast

[Popscott]

Hello,
My mast on my 2001 26x needs to be replaced, it had a 26m mast on it but was bent. Can anyone give me some suggestions please.

[Sea Shadow]

How badly is the mast bent? It may be able to be straightened. Had a bend in my M26 mast and managed to get it out. Tried doing if myself but then went to a rigger who did the job for me. Essentially you suspend the mast either side of the bend and apply weight at the bend. In my case I couldn't apply enough weight, but the rigger had a floor mounted fixed point, suspended the mast and used blocks to pull the mast straight under controlled circumstances. He did warn the it could go wrong but afterwards said the mast was fairly heavy duty for the size of the boat and all was good. Fixed the problem and saved me some money on buying a new mast

[Stickinthemud57]

I have also straightened a bent mast using a hydraulic jack, lumber to redistribute the force, solid points from which to direct force, and even the weight of my van.

If for whatever reason this doesn't work for you, a new mast can be purchased at https://shop.bwyachts.com/category-s/287.htm.

[Wyb2]

Masts can also be spliced. You would have to cut out any material affected by the bend, so your mast would end up being a few inches (possibly more) shorter than before. My understanding is the key is to make your cuts straight and square, so the loads are carried by the full perimeter of the top piece bearing on the full perimeter of the bottom piece. The splice plate and fasteners are there to keep the two pieces in line, not to carry the mast compression loads.

Just a thought

[Stickinthemud57]

Masts can also be spliced. You would have to cut out any material affected by the bend, so your mast would end up being a few inches (possibly more) shorter than before. My understanding is the key is to make your cuts straight and square, so the loads are carried by the full perimeter of the top piece bearing on the full perimeter of the bottom piece. The splice plate and fasteners are there to keep the two pieces in line, not to carry the mast compression loads.

Just a thought

Part of my mast repair included splicing. The staff at Dwyermast.com were very helpful, explaining how to alter a section of a regular mast extrusion to allow it to fit inside of the portions to be joined (Spoiler alert - cut off the portion with the slug slot). Not that difficult, and I was told that the splice would become the strongest part of the mast.