Hi Ralph:

Under mast step I have the super beefy upgrade. I has the crack parallel aft hinge on my boat inspected. Report back it was just in the gel coat. Sealed with epoxy. For compression, I recall remove the old core and replace.

These gel coats cracks can also show up at the forestay fitting; especially earlier hulls where the bow pulpit feet are bolted horizontally in doted line with the forestay bolts. Through bolt with 1" wide piece of track at port rail bolt, forestay forward (I think bolt) starboard rail bolt.

mb

:: :: The fiberglass beneath my mast step has a few cracks and
:: :: maybe even a bit of compression from it's normal
:: :: thickness.
:: ::
:: :: Anybody else noticed this on their boats? What can be
:: :: done about it?
::
:: Our boat repair guru in Detroit, Tim Sarns, told me that
:: he has repaired several boats (not E27s) with
:: compression under the mast step by removing the step and
:: the deck skin under it; removing the bad core under it
:: and epoxying a thick aluminum plate under the mast step
:: plate. The aluminum plate should be a fair amount wider
:: and longer than the mast step plate in order to spread
:: the compression load. Once the aluminum plate is in
:: place the area above it can be filled and faired and a
:: new fiberglass cloth epoxied in on top of the aluminum
:: plate and faired. Then the deck plate can be
:: re-installed. As already mentioned, any problems below
:: with the bulkheads or the wood cross beam or ash A-frame
:: mast support should be addressed also.