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Old Today, 04:56   #1
TGK
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Join Date: Oct 2023
Posts: 9
Albin Vega 27 - Possible Renovation - Mast Base Concern/Questions...

Hello again, Joe here!

Now, as I mentioned in my previous post, I am considering getting an old Albin Vega which would demand fairly extreme (~but fun!(?)) renovation work.

Here is another concerning aspect that I should've mentioned earlier but for some reason didn't...

Towards the bottom of the mast, it was clear that some kind of structural damage occurred. My guess is that something had once crushed into it, and then TIG/MIG welding was used to fill-in this area/damage as reinforcement.

Now, please note that in this case, I do not care so much about cosmetics/aesthetics. If I want, I can gently file-away some of the blobs (of what I presume is aluminum), sand it a bit and call it a day. Or, I could even weld more puddles of aluminum on, to really blend it all in / help with reinforcement(?), and sand that, etc...

-> My concern here is structural. And so, continuing from last time...

Question/Concern #2:

Is this lowest part of the mast structurally shot? Even with more welding, is its life essentially over? Also, what might have caused such damage?


...

Moving on, the support beam for the mast step would of course be reinforced, as people with the Vega commonly do.

But as for the base of the mast and the fitting above the mast step that it joins with, the condition is not horrible for this age of boat, although I would intend on replacing it with a custom, hinged base for the convenience...

For this purpose, people usually buy a base made out of stainless steel, sealing between the aluminum and SS components to prevent additional corrosion at those joints. However, what if someone used a purely aluminum-based hinge base, and one made considerably thicker around the hinged portion due to aluminum's weaker strength?

I've been into CAD design and 3D-printing for about 2 years now, and my thought is that I could carefully measure and design a totally custom hinged base for this particular mast extrusion shape, step, etc.. After a reasonably tight iteration is achieved, I could then use the 3D-prints as patterns for aluminum sand casting (which I have done), later tapping/drilling the necessary holes for attaching the mast to the insert, and the base to the mast step, etc..

Question #3:

Assuming I use some marine-grade aluminum alloy, are there any obvious shortcomings with the method proposed / final result?


FYI, I would probably use stainless-steel bolts coated with an anti-corrosion layer to connect everything.

Also, please note that the FreeCAD screenshots I have attached are for basic visual conception only! Many, many changes in structure (-such as thicknesses, significantly rounding sharp, inside corners that might be prone to cracking, etc.) would go into any final design.


Thanks for any info./help/ideas!
(And sorry this post got WAY too long! )

-J
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