Cut the bottom off the mast?

My mast base rivets pulled loose last week when I used the boat, stepping the mast; 1 rivet loosened up but the hole in the mast around another rivet was pretty corroded and the rivet broke the bottom edge of the mast. I redrilled and added 4 new SS rivets around the base and it looks sturdy but I haven't used it yet. Resealed all holes. I made sure the holes were all drilled in clean strong looking areas so Im thinking its ok.

If it does it again, would it be Ok to cut about a half inch or so off of the bottom of the mast to get a clean end and put on a new base, re- rivet in the right spots, etc? I have a buddy who has a tubing band saw so we should be able to hold the mast level and make a nice strait cut. I realize I'd need to tighten the shrouds after shortening the mast.

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'81 H16 yellow hulls

I would not cut the mast. Your fix should hold for a long time.

There is no reason to seal the rivets - the mast has a siliconed foam plug just above the mast step.

The bases mainly break loose when stepping the mast and the mast base knob hits the mast receiver cup too far foward and binds. When the mast is lifted to about 75 degrees off level, I jiggle it a little to help the knob drop straight into the cup.

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1980 18 foot class A Unicorn catamaran
1977 Super Sunfish (sold)
1979 Hobie (sold)
1983 Hobie 16 Hawiian Sunset (sold)
1981 Hobie 16 Tequilla Sunrise (sold)
2008 Hobie 16 (sold)
2023 Hobie 16
Founding member of the "San Dimas Yacht Club"
John

Yes! That's what happened. I was letting someone new help me and I wasn't paying attention to the alignment. Pissed me off..

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'81 H16 yellow hulls

I cut off about 1/4" of the bottom of my mast when my mast base ripped the rivets through. I see no issue and have seen other posts where people have done the same thing.

I cut the bottom of my mast off. It had been ripped out before and repaired before. There was no more space for new rivet holes.

I also bought a new mast base casting, which had also been ripped by the rivets, and the ball was worn out a bit too.

I would recommend sealing the rivet holes. On my 1981 Hobie the internal seals were all cracked and broken. I think its better to be safe and silicon them.

My only concerns with my cut mast are 1.)the length of the rigging, everything is now down on the lower holes of the chain plates. 2.)my mast is also raked back quite a bit (I have a new forestay which I believe is longer than the original one from the '81 version of the boat) and an extra 2 inches would be nice to have when scrambling under the boom during tacking.

This is just my experience, I'm no expert. There may be other issues of which I'm unaware.

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frank pichel, H16 Veribold, #71146