CD 25 Tabernacle

[Dan & Pat]

(I hope that's the right term for the hinged plate at the top of the cabin, upon which the mast sits)

The last two months have been a learning process for me and Admiral Patty. I'll admit it, I even bought "sailing for dummies" on amazon.com. As a college professor by trade, I am humbled by the amount of learning that is necessary to become a worthy owner and operator of 'the little sailboat that could'.

Anyways, here's the latest problem. It seems as though at one time or other, there was a twisting torque event which evidently cracked the tabernacle. With the mast removed, the crack closes up and is invisible. When we tried to align the mast and played around with raising and lowering it a little, thats when the crack showed its ugly self. .

Is this a replacable item
Is this weldable, or otherwise repairable
Any advice...

Dan

[Oswego John]

Dan,

The answer to your two questions are yes and yes. Yes, it is a replaceable item and yes, it is weldable or otherwise repairable.

Whether you decide to purchase a new one or to repair the old one, either route, you will probably have to remove the cracked tabernacle from the coach roof.

I have no idea what material the cracked tabernacle is made of, possibly an aluminum alloy or stainless steel. Either way, a competent weldor should have no problem repairing the fitting.

He would probably grind out a vee groove along the crack. After laying a root bead in the bottom of the vee with high tensile rod, he would fill the crevice until it stands proud.

After grinding the weld flush and polishing it, the weld will be stronger than the rest of the fitting and will probably be invisable to the naked eye.

A word of caution, have the weldor check for more than one minute crack. If more than one is found, it might be best to toss the old one and install a new tabernacle.

Good luck,
O J

[tartansailor]

I support O J's findings on welding.
I would also like to extend his first response about replacement of the mast hinge.
Present hinge lowers the mast astern, and for that a jack pole or a real hefty spinnaker pole is needed, and you also need to remove the boom.
If you had a replacement hinge that allowed the mast to be lowered forward, you could use your boom as a jack pole, as well as having the freedom to navigate up rivers with low bridges.

I know such hinges are available, and was hoping that someone from the board could help me here, for I would like to get one myself.
Bruce Bingham's book: "The Sailors Sketchbook" Seven Seas Press presents the method (modified for rear lowering) that I use to raise and lower my mast.

Dick

[Dan & Pat]

Thanks O J and Dick, for the quick replies. I am beginning to feel like this site is my own little "ask Jeeves" tool with emphasis on my beloved CD .

My pockets are not bottomless, but this is a case where I think NEW would be better than FIXED, as long as I don't have to stop by the amputee ward to pick up an arm and a leg to pay for it. Now for the big question, does anyone know where I would go to obtain a new tabernacle

[Pierre Gremaud]

http://www.rigrite.com/Spars/Spartan_Sp ... _mast.html

You may want to give them a call: there appears to be two models:

CD-3 Hinged Mast Step Assembly: SP-067,

CD-3 Special Hinged Mast Step Assembly: SP-067-25S;

the latter is for early CD 25. I have no clue which one you need.


Pierre

CD 25 #146

[Dan & Pat]

Not bad, 13 minutes to get an answer!

I'll be on the phone to them this afternoon.

Thanks again for all the help!

Dan

[Doug Fallin]

I ordered this very tabernacle from dwyer because I found rigrite to be more expensive and slow. I also wanted to speak with an expert and only got an answering service. Rigrite has some problems. There are several previous posts pertaining to the tabernacle you want to order as well as discussions on rigrite vs dwyer. I would not try to repair the orginal tabernacle. It is made of cast aluminum and not reliable.

[Dan & Pat]

Doug,

I searched the "where to look" link above and couldn't find a link for Dwyer. Do you have contact information still? Will I need to take out a mortgage to pay for the part?

Also, how difficult a job was it to replace the tabernacle? I haven't really attacked it yet, but it appears to be through bolted with some pretty hefty phillips head bolts. Are the nuts in the cabin easily accessed?

Dan

Edit: 5 minutes later - I just had to look "search" a little further... found them, thanks!

[Doug Fallin]

here is the link for dwyer. Click on the link to the mast extrusion you have and you will find the tabernacle you need. Mine was about $80 with shipping. There are other options to explore. I had a local machine shop punch a hole for the electrical wires which cost me another $20. The link is http://www.dwyermast.com/families.asp?c ... Name=Masts

[Doug Fallin]

I also forgot to tell you that the machine shop drilled the holes to line up with the existing holes in the boat. These hole can be drilled by you if you have a good bit. With the holes all lined up and the mast down, replacement was a snap. Between the two hing plates is a 3/4" gap. Once you cut the hinge plates for electrical wires (if you decide to keep your wires within the mast and not exit at the base- another option) you will want to seal this gap. I cut a 3/4" thick cross section of auto hose (1 1/4" diameter) to fit between the two hinge plates and keep water from entering my boat through this hole. This is an easy thing to do and will keep everything inside dry. Once I bolted down the bottom hinge plate to the deck, secure the upper plate to my mast step, I lined up the hinge pin, raised the mast (don't let things twist and keep it straight), and inserted the other pin. I secured the stansions and was done. It's not hard, just be patient, have extra help and go slow.

[Dan & Pat]

Doug,

I e-mailed the good folks at Dwyer, and got a prompt reply. I also called Rig-Right and, contrary to the bad rap they have been getting on this board, I got a live person on the phone. . .

Ok, so it was someone's teenage son, but he took my information down and said someone would call me back...

A few hours later, I got the call back from someone saying that they "normally stock that item, but they're out of them right now", A new batch would be in next week, and its only $289 for the whole setup, including bolts and an instruction sheet!

Wow, what a deal... Almost $300 at Rip Right for a part that I can get for $80 elsewhere!... Hmmm, Tempting I think not!

I'll be ordering from Dwyer tomorrow.

Edit: Friday Morning 10:15

Jay Kirby in customer support at Dwyer Masts was a big help. He directed me to their online ordering, and advised me as to what I needed.

Although their masts are a slightly different shape than the Schaefer mast I have, the solution was to keep the 'step' that bolts to my mast, and have it re-drilled to the bolt pattern of the hinged plate on their tabernacle. I think that the nicest feature that their tabernacle has is that it hinges either way, forward or aft, by simply removing one pin or the other. This will make it easier to negotiate the mast down whether on the trailer or in the water.

Cost: under $80 including shipping, which saved me some serious money to spend on beer for the bottom painting party planned for next weekend!