Mast base repair question

Should I cut down the base of the mast to remove the broken bits?
Should I redrill the mast foot? It looks like the previous owners didn’t do a good job with the rivets. Or should I get a whole new foot?

There was definitely a little bit of water in the mast

No do not cut the mast down.

If the rotation stops are worn, replace the mast base and mast step. If the rotation stops are not badly worn you can reuse the existing parts.

Drill out all the old rivets. you can file any sharp edges. Reinstall the mast base and drill fresh holes in areas where the metal is good. Be sure to use stainless Monel rivets. You can get these at your Hobie dealer.

Several of those rivets were too close to the bottom edge of the mast and as such there was not very much "meat" for them to grab.

In general, the new holes you drill for new rivets should be in the middle of the ~5/8" overlap of the mast and mast base.

The correct rivet is Hobie Part#: 8010131, 3/16"x3/8" SS Panhead pop rivets.

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Tim
84 H16
82 H16
87 H14T
Tortola Sails: 115222
Blue Prism Sails: 88863
Clearwater, FL

Should I use anything to fill in the existing holes to avoid water intrusion in the mast?

If you look up into the bottom of the mast extrusion, there should be a foam seal not too far up from the bottom of the mast. That primarily does the sealing.

You could install some rivets (aluminum) in the old rivet holes to plug them and coat all of the rivets with silicone caulk to help keep water out. But the main thing is that the internal foam plug is installed and intact. The mast base to extrusion is not a perfectly water-tight connection.

sm