Split Top Masts Because of the way the masts are constructed the fibres all lay along the length of the mast with no fibres spiralling around the mast. The B and C top mast sections are susceptible to splitting at the join, there is after all a lot of stress in this area. You can tell when the section is split by the fine white lines that appear. If you bend the complete mast these fine lines tend to open up and become more noticeable. Short term Fix Use diamond tape (as used for sail repairs) around the bottom of the mast section. This tape tends to stretch less that other sticky tapes. Better Fix Carefully use wet and dry paper to clean and slightly roughen the split end. Use a little Araldite or similar (don’t use the quick setting variety as water makes this type go soft) and wrap some carbon roves around the split area, wrap this in sticky tape to give a smooth finish. You don’t need to build up a large thickness – a very small amount of the carbon is strong enough. |