thanks for the ideas

Posted By: Seth Dabney, 2023-C, Oxford, MS
Date: 7/1/08 9:47p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: Crack (link) (George E Norkus, Santana 2023A, SE Michigan)

The cracks were in the boat before I ever put it in the water. I noticed it when I was working on the ballast tank and then got around to fixing it about a year later. I have no idea how tight the stays were tensioned by the previous owner. I must admit, though, that the cracks seem larger now than they were in 2004. Anyway, it seems that the peak stresses would occur while sailing, not when tensioned at the dock. Does tensioning affect the peak stresses during a blow, or just change the mast shape when stressed? Maybe its a combination of being stressed while it goes through heating and cooling, freezing even, over time. Once it starts going, I can see the expansion/contraction working to extend the damage. A close at the photos makes me think that the "tabs" used to tie the top hull to the vertical ribs have pulled away from the horizontal part of the deck. The broken area extends about 3 inches either side of the "rib," and seem to have square edges at that point. As suggested,I will have to dig in to make sure and find some solid stuff to tie into. George, you drilled through that part of the deck when you redid your cleats...Is there a plywood core in the outside horizontal part of the deck (there is in the cabin top, I've drilled through that)? This is a puzzle that I will continue to think about before I do much more. I really appreciate you giving me your ideas. Seth