Questions about new Selden mast

[riemannh]

Hello all - I'm a new member that's been reading this forum for years. I've sailed in the PNW and in HI over the last ten years or so and finally pulled the trigger on a new Dehler 38 SQ which is being commissioned right now.

One bit of concern I have is with the Selden mast. I've seen awful corrosion before on aluminum masts mated to a steel step (for obvious reasons), but the minor corrosion already appearing on this new mast worries me a bit. Am I overreacting by worrying about these items?

1. Steel plates mated to aluminum mast
2. Steel mated to aluminum with aluminum blind rivets
3. Aluminum mated to aluminum with steel fasteners
4. Some visible corrosion on rivets and, in places, the mast
5. Scoring where drilling was too deep
6. Various other mixes of fastener metals

Link to OneDrive album of select images:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!ArprIZX1qJODifd6...7T7bw?e=P6XJg5

Thanks for any input and happy to be part of the community.

[Pete7]

Welcome to CF

I would put your concerns down on paper and write to the Dehler agent doing the commissioning. That way you get an answer, more importantly for the future, you have evidence in the unlikely event it is needed.

Pete

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, riemannh.
Yes, I'd be concerned about early mast corrosion; and, as Pete suggests, would document & report it.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by riemannh

Hello all - I'm a new member that's been reading this forum for years. I've sailed in the PNW and in HI over the last ten years or so and finally pulled the trigger on a new Dehler 38 SQ which is being commissioned right now.

One bit of concern I have is with the Selden mast. I've seen awful corrosion before on aluminum masts mated to a steel step (for obvious reasons), but the minor corrosion already appearing on this new mast worries me a bit. Am I overreacting by worrying about these items?

1. Steel plates mated to aluminum mast
2. Steel mated to aluminum with aluminum blind rivets
3. Aluminum mated to aluminum with steel fasteners
4. Some visible corrosion on rivets and, in places, the mast
5. Scoring where drilling was too deep
6. Various other mixes of fastener metals

Link to OneDrive album of select images:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!ArprIZX1qJODifd6...7T7bw?e=P6XJg5

Thanks for any input and happy to be part of the community.

+1 for documenting and reporting to Selden.

Your pictures are curious, also, as some of the fittings you point to look as if they're made from completely different metal...

Perhaps unbeknownst to Selden, two different fittings-suppliers?

Odd.
LW77

[BCCLover]

Is it a brand new boat, or a new-to-you boat? That mast does not look brand new, IMO. Our experience with Selden (we just bought a new mast that was delivered in April) has been top notch; I'm adding another voice to those saying to document and report to Selden.

[riemannh]

BCCLover: it's a brand new doesn't yet know what water feels like boat.

Everyone: thanks for the feedback. I sent these along with a few other photos to Selden last night and will ask the yard about it today. Generally, there work has looked pretty good.

The yard did mention yesterday that the shrouds (it's rod rigged) didn't come with the boat or mast. I didn't think much of that at the moment as I knew there were a handful of items that were lagging due to supply chain issues. Hopefully this is just a hiccup...

[riemannh]

FYI, some closure: Selden USA reviewed my photos and got back to me. They didn't seem to see anything concerning.

At the very least, this is documented, but without much knowledge about how to read corrosion on aluminum, I'll have to trust them. I'm aware their reputation is for a high quality product, so that helps comfort me a bit too.

As an aside, it's also possible that the mast sat in the Dehler/Hanse yard in Germany for a while and was exposed to the elements (making it look a bit weathered). My boat was delayed for months due to COVID-19 and supply-chain issues and the mast may have been waiting for other components to catch up. The broker also rightly noted that the mast was wrapped in plastic and shipped from Germany to the US West Coast with the boat, which can temporarily aggravate aluminum.

[Boatguy30]

There are basically no production mast builder making a good product for the boats your talking about. Selden does make a semi-custom product for some the Scandinavian yards still. I believe many of the extrusions are also made in Asia now, but not positive.

[Hesti]

The question is, if care was taken to avoid calvanic insulation of the different materials during assembly of the mast or not. There is insulation paste to be used and possibly thin plastic underlayers under some parts. Also, a question is, if the right material rivets were used everywhere or not. It is strange, if from two side by side rivets, one looks like new and the other doesn't.



The fact, that the components are Selden doesn't mean, that the mast was put together by Selden.


Perhaps you can find a good rigger / mast builder who can check and - if not happy - can disassemble and properly reassemble whatever might need doing. It will not be very expensive and will give you peace of mind.

[Boatguy30]

I see that you're German so I’ll stunt that you know the types of rivets Selden uses. Generally the new mast don’t have same isolation the old masts did. It’s also a totally different grade of alloy, new stuff is much more brittle. And the older Selden mast were probably always a bit more corrosion susceptible than than others. The USA Kenyon masts were probably the best materials and original assembly wise.

[Hesti]

Our boat (27 years old) also has a Selden mast. I am not at all sure, if the materials are still identical to todays. I had the whole mast inspected and some fittings rerivetted last year, some due to corrosion, by a good local mast builder - it does give some peace of mind. And it is not very expensive. Especially not compared to a new mast or even a new boat.

[expatria]

Very interesting to read about the issues you're having with your Seldon mast and not a happy association to start with!
i have almost identical corrosion problems with my John mast fitted to my new Xp38 (Danish X-Yachts). She was build in 2018 and i took delivery in 08/2019. Immediately on delivery to New Zealand three months later we noticed corrosion around many of the stainless fittings and most of the approx 90 rivets on both mast and boom. we soon found out that the mild steel mandrels had been left in most of the rivets and were causing electrolysis. naturally we knocked them all out and the mast ones are now all lying at the base of the mast, which we think is some type of plastic, so hopefully no issues there. with the many stainless fittings on both mast and boom, we queried whether a paste or protective layer had been used to prevent electrolysis, but neither X.Y. or John mast replied; not even after repeated requests.
both X-Yachts and John mast were most unhelpful (conveniently, for them, we're a long way away in N.Z.!) and todate we still have not received a credit for the repairs, as promised by John mast and X.Y. In hindsight (wonderful isn't it!) i would have had another sales contract written up by our own lawyer, which would have been more pro-customer. I'll try and insert some photos, which were made early last year. Sorry, just tried to insert photos, but don't know how to do with 'URL'? My photos are filed in my picture folders and i can't see any URL ...? HELP please.

[FabioC]

I think part of the problem is that Selden supplies masts for most of the boat manufacturers, but the "interface" between Selden and the manufacturer is not always the same. Other mast manufacturers may have the same issue.
For example, I have a Jeanneau, which I bought new and came with a Selden mast. Talking to Selden (I needed information on some of the fittings that came with the mast), I was told that in my case, the shrouds did not come from Selden, but were fitted by Jeanneau, as well as some of the other fittings. In the case of a fellow owner who bought an identical boat as mine, his shrouds came from Selden (in fact, they are a different diameter from mine) and he does not have certain fittings in the same position as mine, even if the two masts are supposed to be identical. Upon close inspection, riveting in the two mast has been clearly performed using different type of machinery, and cannot be excluded that different materials were used.
In principle, there is nothing wrong with this types of inconsistencies, but I can see that they may cause quality control issues on certain boats that are not present on others.

[svfinlandia]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

There are basically no production mast builder making a good product for the boats your talking about. Selden does make a semi-custom product for some the Scandinavian yards still. I believe many of the extrusions are also made in Asia now, but not positive.

When my boat was demasted several years ago, my new Selden mast came to me manufactured in a plant in South Carolina. I assume they are still making masts there.

Al, S/V Finlandia