DaySailer.org Forum

I noticed a dime size area 6 inches below the forestay attachment point on my mast that appears to have eroded down 0.5 mm deep due to corrison. Repair plan? Any and all comments will be appreciated, thank you for any assistance.

So you have a circular 10mm x .5mm patch of corrosion on the front of your mast, 6" away from the nearest fitting.

First question would be, what's the likely cause?

Second question would be, if you sand off the aluminum oxide, do you get a clean surface?

My first reaction would be: half a millimeter isn't all that deep (less than 1/32"). If you can figure out what caused this in the first place and prevent if from occurring again, that might be enough. If you don't trust that the aluminum surface will "heal" after you cleaned and sanded it, then perhaps a daub of paint?

Do not see anything that would have rubbed the area. That was my first thought also i.e...cause and effect, but nothing. I have Al paint and primer and this would be the simplest. Thanks for all the help.

If something was rubbing there, it would show up as damage to the paint. In that case, you know where to look. (However, it's also not unlikely that the damage is simply in the past).