Broken Mast Tang - advice please?

Lat week I took a BIG man out for a spin and every time he got out on the portside wire he pulled on the shroud. At sunset I took a featherweight girl out in a strong offshore and the mast fell down - the mast tang had been bent to port and split right through!

My question is: Is it OK to place all those stays in the (usually vacant) hole above? the tang has three holes - empty one in the middle. I've sailed this way for a few days but I wonder if this could be causing stress somewhere else??? Any advice appreciated.

I hacked off the jagged bits with a saw and I hope this will last for another month or so as I want to keep sailing before replacing the tang.

Tried to include a picture here without success.

You didn't have the wires rigged correctly to begin with.

The center hole is for the bow of the trapeze wire shackle:


You need a new mast tang before you go sailing again. The upper hole is not meant to carry the load of the shrouds.

Thanks MBounds.
So can you please tell me which shackle carries what?
Here's a pic of my corroded tang:

In your photo, the bottom of the mast is to the right. The hole that is broken out is the one for the pin of the main shackle for the shrouds and forestay/jib halyard.

That hole is welded and reinforced to carry the main load of the rig.

The center hole is for the bow part of the trapeze shackle. It's not meant to take any significant load. The reason it's so large is to allow the end of the shackle to pass through (when the pin is out).

The hole on the left is for the pin of the trapeze shackle. It's not meant to bear the load of the rig, just the trapezes.

This is what it's supposed to look like:

Thanks MBounds,
I ordered the tang from Backyard Boats today including the advised 14 rivets and rivet caps - what are 'rivet caps'?
I only hope the items arrive from USA before I go through the old tang!

Rivet caps are like condoms for the rivets that keep water from leaking into the mast.

You insert the rivet caps into the holes, position the tang over the holes, insert all the rivets, then pull the rivets.

Make sure you use a heavy-duty rivet tool and that all the rivets are seated down tight before you pull them.

Thanks again MBounds - last question or two: Do I need to use silicon also?
...and.... I expect to glue my hulls soon so do I use the same rivets and caps and how many do I need ? - I am not near the boat at present so can't do a count.

Silicone is good for two reasons - it helps prevents leaks and it separates the dissimilar metals to help prevent corrosion. Not required, but a good idea.


Don't need the rivet caps on crossbar rivets - the crossbars are not watertight like the mast.

As I recall, there are 6 rivets in each corner. Extra rivets always come in handy.

I've asked BY Boats to include the correct rivets in my order.
You've been a great help MBounds - thanks again. J

For the tang, like MB said the caps go under the tang. Make sure to put ALL of the rivets into the tang/caps/mast before popping them. That way you can avoid alignment issues. This may help with the rivets.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9Af7Q58FRk[/youtube]

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