Bent Mast in Heavy Air

Went sailing today in heavy air in my '98 H18 Magnum and went in the drink. Upon righting, I noticed that the diamond wires on each side had broken. I was far from where I had launched, and it took me another 2 hours to get back to the beach close hauled on a starboard tack. Once onshore I noticed that the mast was bent about 10 degrees at a focal point a few feet above the spreaders.

Experts in the audience tell me, is this a show-stopper for the mast? I realize that the ultimate "right" answer is to replace the mast, but short of that, can the mast be salvaged and sailed again safely? Like a warped wheel on a bicycle straightened by tightening selected spokes, can simply installing and properly tensioning new diamond wires safely get me back in business? Any thoughts on first gently torquing the mast to straighten it at the focus of the bend, then tensioning the diamond wires? Thanks.

If not kinked... maybe. And maybe if the bent area can be supported by the diamonds.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

I've broken diamond wires before, but both at once. How did they break? Did the bolt thru the mast break?

I sailed for many years with a slightly bent mast, the bend was inside the diamonds. It wasn't a huge issue and one tack will favor the bend and the other will not. The diamonds can be tensioned to pull the mast straight but that isn't proper tension for the H18. Chances are once you replace the wires and true it up the curve will disappear.

I'm really curious about the break of the wires, its very uncommon to break one let alone 2.

I mispoke. It was so gnarly on the water that I snapped two new trapeze wires, and a single diamond wire. I have to admit, the line failures were mostly my own fault. I had just bought a waterproof housing for my camcorder the previous day, and I was completely engaged in filming radical waves, flying hulls, and elated, sea-soaked trapeze artists. I wasn't paying enough attention to the boat or the conditions, and a combination of a rogue wave, 25+ knot gust, and cleated main + dropped sheet did me in. The boat went over when both my crewmembers flew into the drink and the mainsheet was nowhere to be found. I got some awesome crash footage, that is, until the camcorder housing smashed against the boom, cracked, and flooded out! Now that I think of it, the camcorder is still in the boat; I haven't yet had the heart to view the remains of my old friend.

Strangely, if you can believe it, this was both my best day of sailing ever, and my worst. To ride the line between control and abandon in big wind is an incredible place to be. If I hadn't bent the mast, it would have been all good.

You probably already know this but check the alignment of the spreader, it may be pulling the mast if up or down. That would make it look bent.
It sounds like the boat flipped really fast, did you get launched? The footage from the camera is probably awesome if you can recover it. At least all are safe and your mast might be salvageable.

Last year I bought a cheap H18 that had a bent mast. Not only was the mast bent, but one of the diamond wires was snapped in the middle of the cable with the SS strands frayed- it definitely looked like a pure overstressed cable. Besides the snapped cable, its burnbuckle was damaged, and bottom bolt was bent. The rivets on the wire tang at the top were loose and the spreader bracket was collapsed and dented the mast somewhat. The bend was originaly about 5 degrees. I cannot afford a new mast. After replacing all the parts above that were defective(except the spreader bracket) the mast is only bent 1-2 degrees now.

I'm not sure of the history of the boat, but is a pictch pole a common cause of this?

Most common cause is a bump on the bottom or impact when capsizing on land. A pitchpole should not bend a mast.

I have a H18 and am working on unbending the mast. This process however crude is working but going very slowly. I'm using 3 trees. Each of the trees is about 3' apart and they are in a triangular formation. The mast is sitting on two sawbucks with the broad sides of the mast against 2 of the tree trunks. The third tree trunk(in the middle of the other 2 but 3 feet back- triangular formation) has a ratchet come-along hooked to it and a rope tied around the mast- between the two trees the mast is touching The come-along provides constant tension on the mast to coax it the other way.

I started the process by bending the mast back straight and letting is sit with tension for 3 weeks. Now I'm overbending by the same amount in the opposite direction. I release the come-along and once a week. Its working but very slowly. better than kinking the mast. I'm not in a position to buy a new one unless someone near Manitowoc, Wisconsin is selling a used one.

If you know of a better way, let me know.

From what I have seen you are doing it correct, but if you fill the mast with sand you can exert more pressure with less chance of kinking.

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Bodhisatfa