Bulge in front of my mast footing

[Guest]

I own a 1979 O'Day day sailer. It is kept on the trailer most of the time, and I have travelled with it a great deal. One time, after returning to Austin, Texas from Florida, I notice a bulge and cracked fiberglass just in front of my mast footing. The fiberglass was cracked and comming up. I have begun to repair it, but there is a vertical piece of pipe that is pushing up the decking - I assume this is from riding on the front roller of the trailer. The questions I have are - do I need this piece of pipe, what the devil is it for, and has anyone else run into this type of problem.

Nick Hoover (nick.hoover-at-tdh.state.tx.us)

[Guest]

I was somewhat confused on what the piece of pipe that is coming up. In my daysailor I have a bronze threaded fitting that my mast fits on top of. Is this what you are referring to? If so, yes, you need it. Yesterday I pulled up the rotting floor and found quite a nice surprise (sarcasm). In my boat they put foam on the bottom of the sole, and then laid plywood and glass over the top of that. It was so rotten and water soaked that there was seaweed growing in the bottom! Needless to say it needs to be replaced. If this same set-up was used in you boat be sure to remove any wet foam! Wetness can make the fiberglass de-laminate and it could be the problem with the raising glass? Hope you find out whats up. Eric

Eric Nelson (daysailor17-at-hotmail.com)

[Guest]

Nick, gee...I thought that I had the only 1979 Day Sailer II on which O'Day had installed that pipe too far forward! YES, you do really need it! The mast step is screwed down to the cuddy floor, those screws thread into a piece of 3/4" to 1" thick plywood that is fiberglassed to the underside of the cuddy floor. the pipe is fitted into a recess in that plywood and supports the mast step, without it the mast step will soon crack through the cuddy floor and you better hope it stops before continuing right through the bottom of the boat. The plywood piece on my boat had completely rotted out, and the mast step had cracked through the floor of the cuddy. The previous owner had tried to glass over the crack, but the second time that I took the boat out after I bought her, the crack re-openned with a rather loud bang. I had to cut an access panel in the cuddy to reach the pipe and the first winter after I bought my boat I replaced the plywood piece (and thoroughly epoxy-coated it!) and then added a roughly 12" x 12" plate of 1/4" aluminum between the mast step and the cuddy floor. This also gave me a better, more secure location for the eyestrap and block for the centerboard up line.

Rod Johnson (rjohnson24-at-juno.com)

[Guest]

Hey guys, I have a mariner 19 with what I think is the same problem. When I saw what had happened I thought that it was a design problem. I still don't know if this is the origional set up for the mast support. but let me try to explain what I have. Directly under the mast is a (what looks like a 1\2 inch tubular aluminum support. but this support doesn't go straight down to the cabin floor. I goes at an angle towards the bow. It was about the second time out when the support broke through the cabin floor, and into the foam between the floor and the hull. is this support normally installed at an angle toward the front or should it be placed directly under the mast for better support??? I don't know much about this little boat other than when she is good she is fast and fun to sail. If anyone out there knows the answer to this question please help!!! Stuck in cancun and suffering.
Carl

Dr. Carl Rossell (cancundr-at-yahoo.com)