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Dismasted at dock

vasuvius

Member II
Yesterday, a friend and I were putting on the sails on my E26. Luckily there was a dock available at the club and we didn't have to do it at the mooring. We got the mainsail setup without any issues.
We got the headsail into the furler and as we were turning the furler foil to be able to setup the furling line, the forestay snapped at the turnbuckle and the mast fell back. Luckily there was no one nearby and no one else on the boat and we escaped injury.
The boom sheared off the gooseneck - the rivets popped out and there's some damage on the gooseneck. One of the spreaders broke off along with half the bracket it was mounted on. Some other damage as well. No hull damage.
We got a few other people at the club to help and it took us a couple hours to disconnect all the rigging to get the boom and mast off the boat.
The boom and the furler foil seem to be fine.
I need to find a rigger to setup it now as I simply don't trust myself to do it.
Here's some pics

Where the forestay cable snapped :

PXL_20220530_195938579.jpg

Where the boom fell on the compass and broke the entire housing (the compass seems to be fine)

PXL_20220530_195432659.jpg

where the spreader bracket broke off

PXL_20220529_211427701.jpg

The base of the mast - a little bent - can be hammered back into place I think

PXL_20220530_193409322.jpg

The gooseneck rivets holding the boom popped off

PXL_20220530_193432903.jpg


Never a dull moment.
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
Oh, Ouch! Just reading this is going to give me nightmare for a week. Still, at the dock is probably the best possible place for this to happen, as long as nobody got hurt!

I suppose this just means that you waited one year too long to replace the standing rigging. How old was it?
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Also glad you folks are OK.
Wow. :oops:

FWIW, that particular wire break is *exactly* the way a shroud broke, several decades ago, when I was crewing an offshore delivery up the WA coast. "Stress corrosion" just down -out of sight- inside the top of a lower swage.

There are a ton of boats out there with rigs over 20 years old that should have a new standing rig installed.
This boat appears to be in need. (IMHO)
Insurance covers this, I presume?
 
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gabriel

Live free or die hard
did you break the shroud because of twisting it with the furler? The PO of my boat said this happened to him but he was able to secure the mast before it went down.
 

vasuvius

Member II
@gabriel - The forestay broke as we were turning the sail around the furler foil. It should not have. It was likely already compromised and hence it broke so easily.

I'm just glad nobody got hurt and that it broke while at the dock instead of when I was out sailing with my wife (which would have been verry bad)

Here's a thread on the Alado furler and issues.

https://www.reddit.com/r/sailing/comments/talyur
 

vasuvius

Member II
I haven't had time to deal with fixing the mast and getting it back up. I haven't been able to find a rigger in these parts who can even come and take a look at the boat. The aluminum welding required for the broken spreader is likely to be difficult to source around here (from what I've been told by folks at the boat club).

I am not sure what to do at this point. I'll call RiggingOnly to get details on how I can order replacement cables and h/w for the rigging.

Does anyone have any suggestions or parts or folks who might be able to do the work - The boat is in Nyack NY.

Time is the biggest issue at the moment. Part of me wants to sell the boat - bit I imagine selling a boat with a mast down is not the easiest of things.
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I would go to boatyard or shipyard and hunt down foremen, show pix of issue, gather advice. Telephone won't do it. It's summer, launch time, everybody's booked, so you need to come off as a special case worthy of interest and sympathy for whom special exception is made, etc. It does take personal effort, but effort works because most boat owners are rich and demanding and you're at least human.

I don't think your spreader can be welded, it looks like cast aluminum.

Yeah, hard to sell as is.
 

Marlin Prowell

E34 - Bellingham, WA
This place https://sailboatwreckingyard.com is just 20 minutes from here. I’ve always wanted an excuse to wander in their junkyard. Their inventory of boats being parted out is four years old, but there are three Ericsons on the list. Their facebook page says they took in an Ericson 26 in February 2020.

Tell us your exact model (there are two E26 versions), your exact spreader dimensions, your binnacle pedestal manufacturer, and other parts you are looking for with as much detail and measurements as possible. If you want, I’ll look and take photos of what I find. More to be determined once I see what they have.
 

Brad Johnson

Member III
Yikes, The spreader fitting is your hardest Item to repair, Can you file an insurance claim , ?? I would be very cautious about a repair , That is an Isomat mast with seams simular to a US Spars Mast. Best of luck
 

vasuvius

Member II
This place https://sailboatwreckingyard.com is just 20 minutes from here. I’ve always wanted an excuse to wander in their junkyard. Their inventory of boats being parted out is four years old, but there are three Ericsons on the list. Their facebook page says they took in an Ericson 26 in February 2020.

Tell us your exact model (there are two E26 versions), your exact spreader dimensions, your binnacle pedestal manufacturer, and other parts you are looking for with as much detail and measurements as possible. If you want, I’ll look and take photos of what I find. More to be determined once I see what they have.

Hi Marlin - I truly appreciate your offer but hesitate to send you off on a wild goose chase. My boat is an E26-2 - tall mast, deep keel version.
I've verified that the spreaders are intact. It's the spreader tang that is the issue - It is indeed cast aluminum as Christian points out. The spreader tang will need to be cut off the mast and a replacement welded to the mast for it to be reliable. The base of the mast may need to be cut and mast shortened which means I'll have to get new sails or get current sails.
I fear that the costs - parts, labor, and time may outweigh the value of the boat.


Yikes, The spreader fitting is your hardest Item to repair, Can you file an insurance claim , ?? I would be very cautious about a repair , That is an Isomat mast with seams simular to a US Spars Mast. Best of luck
I have a claim under review - I hesitate to post details here. I hope the insurance company does the right thing.
 

acubria

Member II
Find attached the e-26 standing rigging specification in case you dont have it.
I will ask around my club if there is a rigger they could recommend.
 

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cdesopo

Member II
I haven't had time to deal with fixing the mast and getting it back up. I haven't been able to find a rigger in these parts who can even come and take a look at the boat. The aluminum welding required for the broken spreader is likely to be difficult to source around here (from what I've been told by folks at the boat club).

I am not sure what to do at this point. I'll call RiggingOnly to get details on how I can order replacement cables and h/w for the rigging.

Does anyone have any suggestions or parts or folks who might be able to do the work - The boat is in Nyack NY.

Time is the biggest issue at the moment. Part of me wants to sell the boat - bit I imagine selling a boat with a mast down is not the easiest of things.
Talk to Don White at White's Marina in New Hamburg. Can you secure everything & motor up river? Or Charles from Stormy Bay Marine Svcs (he's a mobile & also works out of Hyde Park Marina).

Black Rock Boat Works in Bridgeport CT is highly recommended by North Sails (their neighbor). You may want to try giving them a call.
 

vasuvius

Member II
Talk to Don White at White's Marina in New Hamburg. Can you secure everything & motor up river? Or Charles from Stormy Bay Marine Svcs (he's a mobile & also works out of Hyde Park Marina).

Black Rock Boat Works in Bridgeport CT is highly recommended by North Sails (their neighbor). You may want to try giving them a call.
Thank you. I’ll call them and find out what they say.

Yesterday, I spent a few hours taking off all the standing rigging off the mast and got a much better understanding of how it all works. The 2 main hardest things are the broken spreader tang/base and the bottom edge of the mast. I found the broken piece of the spreader tang - it was wedged tight inside the spreader at the outer end.
Mobile aluminum welders are scarce and especially so for small jobs.
I got a rough $3-4k quote (sight unseen) from Haverstraw marina which probably means $5k at least by the time it’s all done.
The cost of repair is beginning to approach the value of the boat.
 
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