Mast base ripped out

So, my boat mast bass ripped out the bottom of the mast with the rivets still attached to the base. I was wondering if I could re-rivet it and then braze the base back on? How much force does the base take while the mast is stepped? Do I need to braze it to the mast? I suspect it came lose from wear and tear of the mast being raised, maybe even incorrectly?

If you are using the older style step link, throw it away. It can cause the mast base to overshoot the step. I moved and re-riveted mine also using marine adhesive. I don't see why you can't weld it although on older salt water boats the mast extrusion can be very thin at the bottom from corrosion. Read the other mast base topic here on this forum.

This happens most often when the end of the mast corrodes and becomes too thin to deal with the stress of raising the mast.


You can re-rivet it, but you can't braze or weld it. The mast and base casting are different alloys.

The greatest force on the mast/base connection is when the mast is being stepped. You must use stainless steel or Monel rivets.

If the metal at the end of the mast extrusion is still good (not corroded), you can re-rivet the base on directly - just jam it back on and put new rivets in different locations.

If the mast extrusion is corroded, then you need to trim the corroded metal back - usually only about 1/4" to 1/2" (wrap a sheet of paper around the mast to get an even cut line). Then re-rivet the base with rivets offset from the original holes.

Note that your mast will be shorter and you'll need to take up on your rigging slightly - usually one hole down on the shrouds will take care of it.

Chad I had a very lively thread on my mast base breaking off while stepping it and I can confirm you can rivet the base back to the mast. You will need 4 stainless steel rivets size 3/16x3/8, ( I got mine from Fastenal I can dig up a part # for them if you'd like), a punch to get the hole started, a drill and a 3/16 metal drill bit. If your mast is like mine was there is a rivet on port and starboard sides of the mast. Take your base and set it into the mast then take a hammer and gently tap around the base so it seats fully in the mast. Then you line up the puch with the exsisting rivet if possible, make sure you have enough meat on the base for that rivet will hold. Mark the spot with a punch and drill a hole along side the exsisting hole and pop the rivet in, filp the mast and do the same on the other side. Finish it off by putting rivets on the yet undrilled sides of the exisiting rivets (on mine it looks like theres three rivets in a line on each side since the old ones never came out) and boom you are done. I've had my boat out a few times since then and the mast is no worse for wear.