Comptip Mast repair and re-gluing

Thought I would document this. I don't necessarily know what I am doing but with things I have read on this forum and advice from Matt Miller at Hobie I am giving it a shot.

Came home from work and got the comptip off the mast. Unfortunately I did beat on the mast tang a bit to get it to come off. Someone put the two halves together with silicone.

Going to sand and repair the bad edges of the comptip (you can see the material coming off and you can see the white mesh fibers showing) before I put it back together.

Using Bondo 00277 Glass Reinforced Filler, sand and spray a little rustoleum flat black automotive paint to finish it.

Then I will use the same product to put the two mast halves back together. Not sure how I will do that as they are very snug already!

Here is a pic of the comptip.

I must say after all this I really like my old H16 all aluminum mast.....

Thank you for the document
For the record I enclose Matt's answer to the question of werther is critical the gluing of both parts or just an esthetic issue.

"It is important for the CompTip to be glued in. Being loose is what caused the chipping, but at some point it may be worse as the boat wears. There is a lot of downward loads grinding the two sections together while sailing. Gluing prevents that."

Ok so for the last few days after work I have been working on the repair by sanding the old fiberglass comptip where it was broken and adding layers of Bondo. Finally satisfied (not really) but wanted to spray a coat of Rustoleum flat back on tonight and it unfortunately it bubbled up on both sides of the repair. Now where else just the repair. Maybe the Rustoleum primer/paint was not meant to go on Bondo??

But I will wait for an hour and sand it down and try it again.

My goal is to put the two mast halves together by tomorrow afternoon so I can finally put up the mast and sails so I can take the Getaway out for a spin.

I got all of the silicone off the comptip tonight but still need to remove it from the inside of the mast.

Not sure who did this but they put a ton of silicone on this thing!

Any suggestions for cleaning the silicone off the inside of the mast?

Matthew

Was able to lightly sand and add another coat last night. Looks fine. Did a 3rd coat today.

Plan on putting the mast parts together this afternoon

Mast is back together.

Screwed up the first time... too much Bondo and could not get the tip in. And in the Florida hot sun the Bondo dried in seconds.

Scrapped it out and sanded everything back off and started again. This time with a lot less Bondo. Can't really understand how that will hold the comptip on. Maybe too little Bondo this time.

I will post pics later.

Matthew

Nice job!

Sweet!

_________________
R/Thom
SeaRail 19
Triak
BMW C600
Formerly Getaway with Custom Spinnakers
Formerly raced F24 Mk II

Mast is up!

Put padding under the wings and flipped the mesh over so it was not faded, looks much better. Wish I could do that on the main tramp too.

Here she is sitting next to my H16.

Will put up the main sail tomorrow, hopefully that will go smoothly.

Hope to take it out tomorrow... my first sail!

Made it out today. Hot and no wind but I was determined to see how she sails. It's not like the H16 but my wife loves it and even went out with me the second time! It will be fun to take out with a group of friends.

Still feel uneasy with that comptip.... knowing that it is just in there 8 inches.... but she sailed fine....

Hi, my comment is a little late, but posting anyway. I repaired my tip recently. Gelcoat had also cracked as epoxy had given way. I re gelcoated the craked edges and used a soft epoxy kit supplied by Hobie. I pulle the tip off by attaching wide straps around the 2 parts and slowly pulling apart by attacing one end to car and one end to house. Came apart smoothly I didnt allow the straps to touch the tangs at all. The 2 mast parts were then pulled together using the main sheet blocks to keep in position while drying overnight. The epoxy supplied by Hobie does a great job. Around $40 AUS.

Glad to see you got yours sorted.
cheers J

Hi Mathew how finally did the Bondo on the mast? Is the mast still on one piece? I still havent glued mine. Shame on me I have the hobie on my holiday place and I cant find the day to stop sailing and doing the job. Also I fear to mess it up to be honest.Kind regards to all.

Dear all
Tomorrow I intend to join the two parts of the mast and despite I have read all about it at the forum still not sure which product should be better. You always recommend Bondo but there are tens of products under this brand and not sold here in Spain. I enclose pictures of the products I have here. First is polyester putty, I believe this is what you call Bondo. Second is an epoxy filler, and third an epoxy resin.
I also read is optional to put two rivets at both sides. I fear making holes in the mast. Do you think is really necessary.
Thank you for your help and kind regards.

My two cents worth.
Hobie sells the Epoxy in a bag. Just mix and go. I used the Mainsheet blocks to pull it together. Has stayed firm for over a year. Leave a 3+mm gap between the two parts and run some sixaflex around that to make it look tidy.
Jez

Couple of tips.

Mix a batch of the Bondo to test the cure time. The catalyst will make the grey putty lightly pink to more red if you add more. You can see by color if it is over catalyzed. As I recall... very light pink tint at most. Less is better to a point. Just takes longer to cure. Over catalyzed putty ends up like hard rubber. Correctly catalyzed ends up as hard as rock.

Do it in shade or cooler weather.

Tape the aluminum and the comptip to prevent overflow from getting on it. Tape the tracks on both to keep putty from getting in them. Clean off soon if it does.

Get the mast up on some saw horses. Base against a tree or post you can bang it against.

Putty a thin layer on the base and some inside the aluminum extrusion.

You will hold the comptip and insert as far as it will go... pull the whole assembly away from the tree/post and then (holding the CompTip) like a battering ram... hit the base of the mast against the tree. The inertia of the quick stop against the tree forces the comptip in. Repeat until the CompTip is in.

Check alignment left right and sight along the track to check fore and aft alignment. Hold somehow with track up to cure.

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