Hi Ed,

Tension in all of the standing rigging, including the outer shrouds, cause the mast to be in compression.  Check out my rig tuning procedure in the archives.  A portion of the wind loading on the sails also gets turned into mast compression.  In order to achieve the proper sail shape and prevent the mast from shifting around (pumping)  under certain conditions of wind, waves, and point of sail; all the standing rigging has to be pretty tight.  I'm sure this "correct" level of shroud tension would be more than enough to cause the damage you are observing without a mast compression post.  You've got a serious problem here, I would not sail the boat like this.  I would immediately unstep the mast, fix whatever damage you find in the cabin roof, and get a compression post in there.  This one is a safety issue.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
1978  Sanford, MI


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________________________________
From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> on behalf of Matt Wilson <mwhornblower at gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2024 10:36 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Mast step issues?

Last question, Do you think that this could have been caused by
outer shrouds being too tight?

Sorry for the scattered nature of this thread.  I didn't see an option for
picture file size on my phone when I attached them.

On Wed, Jun 26, 2024 at 9:32 PM Matt Wilson <mwhornblower at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> Here is the gap below the aft corner of the hatch next to the tabernacle.
> Obviously sagging.
>
> The boat was stored outside significantly before I owned it. I was a
> newbie and didn’t notice this before.
>
> Obviously, it needs to be short up. If I were to put a block on the cabin
> soul just outside the head, could I put in a temporary post to get through
> the sailing season? If I shim it in there really solid? Do you think that
> would be a solid enough to be safe temporarily? What would you recommend as
> the long-term fix, hopefully this is clearer having seen all of these
> pictures. Thank you so much for your help guys!
>
> On Wed, Jun 26, 2024 at 9:31 PM Matt Wilson <mwhornblower at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> here are the cracks at the front corners of the tabernacle/step looking
>> aft
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Jun 26, 2024 at 9:30 PM Matt Wilson <mwhornblower at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Here is a picture of the same area from the side.  You can see the sag
>>> in the ceiling below the mast
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jun 26, 2024 at 9:29 PM Matt Wilson <mwhornblower at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> The files are too big so I will send them separately. Sorry about that
>>>> Here is a picture looking forward.  The ceiling below base of the mast
>>>> is about 1/2” lower than the top of the “post”. Like the mast is tipping
>>>> backwards
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Jun 26, 2024 at 5:46 PM Ed McNamara <edmc18 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I recently discovered a small crack below my mast step of my ‘88. When
>>>>> I
>>>>> cut into the step I found significant rot of the underlying plywood.
>>>>> I ended up cutting out all of the plywood under the raised step (I
>>>>> think
>>>>> it’s something like 8” wide by 11” long).
>>>>> I used a combination of marine grade plywood and West System 2 part
>>>>> epoxy
>>>>> to repair it. I saw, in my case, no evidence of sagging above or
>>>>> below. I
>>>>> have the athwart-ships bulkhead separating the main cabin from the
>>>>> head and
>>>>> bow. It appeared to me that the edge of that bulkhead was a compression
>>>>> post. Photos show the cleaned out area and then the area filled in but
>>>>> not
>>>>> yet pointed. A few months of sailing later…So far, so good.
>>>>>
>>>>> Ed McNamara
>>>>> s/v Scholar 88/01
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, Jun 26, 2024 at 4:06 PM Graham Stewart <gstewart.gm at gmail.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> > If you have a post after all- even if it is off center slightly then
>>>>> I
>>>>> > would be checking out what is below the post to make sure it is
>>>>> solid right
>>>>> > down to the hull.
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Graham Stewart
>>>>> > Rhodes 22
>>>>> > Agile, 1976
>>>>> > ________________________________
>>>>> > From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> on behalf
>>>>> of
>>>>> > Matt Wilson <mwhornblower at gmail.com>
>>>>> > Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2024 12:50 PM
>>>>> > To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>; peter
>>>>> > beckerman <recorderguy2001 at yahoo.com>
>>>>> > Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Mast step issues?
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Just to clarify, this picture looks like mine and the post you
>>>>> referenced
>>>>> > is not directly h set the mast.  So if that is the normal set up and
>>>>> my
>>>>> > cabin roof is slightly sagging, what could be the cause and what
>>>>> should I
>>>>> > do to remedy this?   I like the idea of a curtain for the head
>>>>> because the
>>>>> > door is in the way. Perhaps adding an additional post would fix the
>>>>> > problem?
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Many thanks all,
>>>>> > Matt
>>>>> >
>>>>> > On Wed, Jun 26, 2024 at 11:00 AM Matt Wilson <mwhornblower at gmail.com
>>>>> >
>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>> >
>>>>> > > But that is not directly under the mast is it?
>>>>> > >
>>>>> > > On Wed, Jun 26, 2024 at 10:26 AM peter beckerman via Rhodes22-list
>>>>> <
>>>>> > > rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org> wrote:
>>>>> > >
>>>>> > >> The arrow points to the compression post on the attached pic of
>>>>> cabin
>>>>> > >> with "swell head"
>>>>> > >>
>>>>> > >>
>>>>> > >> Peter
>>>>> > >>
>>>>> > >> [ Sent From rhodes22.net ]
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>>>>