mast step and mast heel corrosion

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damaging mast corrosion is most likely to occur at the heel of the mast.
especially if it sits in a wet bilge area or if the step lacks an adequate drain. 
unfortunately the corrosion is likely to be on the inside of the mast

from Don Casey's book "inspecting the aging sailboat"

what do you think about this one. do i need to lower the mast for the neccessary inspection?

and what do you think about the corrosion at the mast step?

cheers

 

Inspection by a professional is your friend. Where your boat has been used is a factor as well. Salt water boats have a whole set of issues due to galvanic corrosion of dissimilar metals and salt acting as an accelerant to corrosion.

You can't see a lot of damaging corrosion - much of it is internal to the metal and it can manifest as crystalline metal degradation. Stress and repeated fatigue can be just as damaging as plain corrosion.

--
Bill

 

No inspection necessary you can see there aren't any weep holes in the step and the step is steel, so you'll have corrosion, you can bet on it.

 

there are weep holes. i indicated them on the picture.

cheers

 

Yep, I missed them, but still lots of corrosion present.

 

yes. But the mast base is steel, i think for steel it is normal.
i wonder the condition of the aluminum mast heel. Can you make a comment about its condition? do you think that it has corrosion inside.

cheers

 

If you remove the exit block you could reach a finger/shine a light inside. The screws look okay, but will probably be frozen.

 

Aren't any weep holes? Are you kidding? You can't recognize a weep hole and you expect people to take you seriously?

Do you never tire of being wrong?

 

It is possible the steel mast base might have a weldment that fits up inside the mast. This is common, but the step is usually made of aluminum also. If the steel surface has been in contact with the aluminum mast wall for a long period of time in a saltwater environment I would expect to see corrosion.

If you are concerned you can simply pull the rig and inspect. I would think you will have to pull the rig anyway to inspect and repaint the step.

 

thanks.
this mast is belong to a old boat that i am planning tu buy.
the rig had been change 10 years ago. but the mast is older.
what is the lifespan of an aluminum mast? and what can you say about the surface condition of the mast?

cheers

 

The live span would be damage and corrosion related on an aluminum mast. I've seen them several decades old, still in service. It looks like that one has seen some serious time at sea as well.

Your best bet is to pull an inspection plate or other piece of hardware and have a good look underneath and inside the extrusion. This would only be a quick assessment, but possibly a good indication of it's condition. Select the oldest looking fitting to remove, as much of the bolt on stuff may have been replaced or moved 10 years ago when she was re-rigged or during her life time.