Busted Supercat mast base

I happened on some distressed`newbies tonight 5 minutes too late. They had just pulled the pin on their BostonWhaler SC15 forestay with the sail up, and the mast keeper pin in. You know what happened next- the base neck broke and its inner steel pin is bent.

Mast Base Removal and Repair suggestions welcome: There are 6 Phillips head screws on its top, and 2 more under the front plus a pop rivet underneath. How many of these are actually into the crossbar? More? No dolphin striker on this SC15.

I had a local dunebuggy welder heliarc/rebuild my Hobie 16 mast base last year and results were good. I would suggest the same to these fellows`if anyone agrees.

I'd bet that Tom Haberman at Aquarius Sails would have some excellent suggestions.

http://www.aquarius-sail.com/

He may have some replacement parts, since they still offer some support for the old Boston Whaler and Supercat lines.

They are also great folks to work with.

Dave, I second the suggestion to call Tom Haberman/Aquarius. The ARC17 they produce is a slightly modified version of the SC17, which has the same mast base as the SC15. It is very likely that Aquarius will have a replacement mast base in stock.

Considering the boat's age, it is probably a good idea to remove all the fasteners on the mast base, even if only to check for possible corrosion spots.

About a possible repair, the mast base is cast aluminum and I believe it is possible to weld it, but not exactly easy. There isn't much space for excess added metal around the neck, so most excess weld will have to be removed in a mill. This adds to the cost and will probably result in a relatively weak base, when compared to the original. Still, it is the same part used in the SC17, so there is plenty of built in safety margin. The decision between buying a new part and fixing the existing one will depend on price, availability, welder skill, etc.

I'd be very interested in what you eventually find out as you explore various options (like calling Aquarius) and then what you finally did to resolve the problem.

That kind information may help someone else, including one of us in the future.

Is this forum great for this kind of stuff or what???

Thanks,

Tom

That's a typical problem with the Supercats. If they had the base with the aluminum rod and it has bent, there is no recovery. Call Aquarius and buy a new one.

Be carefull pulling out the old screws. They break off easily and are so small, they are hard to tap out.

The SC15 has reinforcing inside the beam, so it doesn't need a dolphin striker.

Thanks for the excellent responses. Curiously I was also walking nearby on the beach last year when a SC-21 was towed in from Lake Michigan by a jet ski. I saw the broken-off mast step. That owner didn't know who Bill Roberts was, and didn't want to talk to me. so I left. Understand check with Aquarius, and heliarc welding is ok for such oversize parts.
PS: Its Lake Michigan- NO CORROSION exists! That Boston Whaler SC15 looked brand new!

Same here, reasonably well maintained Supercats may last forever.