rebuilding kenyon spars

i have a 1984 ericson 381, i am getting ready to pull the mast and inspect the fittings prior to disassembly and painting with awlgrip, my questions are these.
1. i did some research on replacing the rivets, i will use zinc chromate coated monel rivets, the majority of them i suspect are 3/16"?
2. has anyone used them to replace the original stainless rivets?
3. selden paints their stainless fittings with a uv stablized clear coating mixed with micro ballons,they coat the back side , dry and install. anyone use this method?
4. has anyone bought the replacement fittings fron Kenyon / rig rite, I believe the mast is a model 5280, and the boom is a model 3756?
5.i am concerned over the mast step corroded, reading some of the articles I am going to soak this area well prior to un stepping the mast, any ides about what to use?
the bilge is so shallow, and i have replaced the covers recently, how to stop water from entering, any clues?

I have no quick answers to the first 4, but do have a comment on number 5. I have a Kenyon spar on my 1988 Ericson/Olson 34. One my boat the butt of the mast sets on a grp cross-member that keeps it above the bottom of the bilge. The mast is, of course aluminum, and the base it sets on is also aluminum. The spar came out without a problem when the boat was trucked here from the SF Bay area in '94. I cleaned up dirt around the base plate and made sure that the notches for rain to drain out of were open. Since then the winter rain water comes down the inside of the mast and runs into the adjacent bilge areas and I sponge it out every few days in the winter. There is no practical way to prevent wind-blown rain from entering the mast at the halyard sheaves and exits, and also the spreader roots, AFAIK. On the plus side this fresh water causes no potential corrosion danger, either. It's just harder to keep the bilge dusty dry in the winter!
Unless the butt of your mast has sat right in sea water, I do not see a problem there.
One thing you said prompts a question: Why will you sand off the anodising and go to the expense of covering the spars with LPU? My anodizing still looks like new. Or, was yours painted originally? I do indeed know that some early 80's Ericson masts were painted black.
One other place you may want to post your spar questions is the well-focused "spartalk" column at Brian Toss' excellent web site, http://www.briontoss.com/.
And, Keep us posted, please.
All the best,
Loren Beach
Portland, OR

rebuilding Kenyon spar

Thanks Loren, for your reply, and Merry Christmas.
1. zinc chromate coated monel rivets can be purchased from Selden USA. metric sizes, limited sizes, and expensive for 1/4 inch equivalant, reasonable for 3/16 inch.
2. the mast was powder coated white
3. I am going to install a rigid boom vang, any expierence with them?
4. i will use either thin strips of teflon or paint the back side of the fittings like selden.
5. I have read the spar talk site, it seams stainless steel rivets are the norm, but i believe this is a mistake, monel is the perfered method, also i tend to believe Selden has done their home work regarding the engineering and manufacturing of quality spars, typical of european companys

Re: rebuilding Kenyon spar

Originally posted by jon newman
3. I am going to install a rigid boom vang, any expierence with them?
>>>>
Yup. Our '88 boat came with one, as standard equipment. It was a gas cylinder type, and had lost most of its pressure by the time we got the boat in '94. I replaced it with a spring loaded one, with coated SS springs. No squeeks, no rust stains. It is really great. If you are not used to one of these, there are a couple of changes to your sailing routine...
You get rid of the topping lift and no longer have it hanging up on the sail, but you will notice that when you prepare to hoist, the boom can swing back and forth even with tension on the mainsheet -- the springs compress in the vang and provide a variable up-force. And when you have stowed the main, you must clip the halyard to the end of the boom (you may be doing this already to keep it away from the mast) to fully support the boom and keep it from swinging when you then torque up on the mainsheet to keep it parked wherever you dictate.
If I had know before this boat how handy a rigid vang was, I would have put one on our prior boat just to get rid of the *%$)@# topping lift! <BG>
Loren

Click to expand...

Can't really answer your questions other than to say I too am in the process of having my 1985 32-3 spars refurbished (i.e removing all hardware, stripping the powder coated mast to bare aluminum, then Awlgripping with primer). Boy, is it expensive, but I think it is worth it for the longterm health of the spars. I haven't gotten to figuring how to rebed the hardware, except I know there is a special material to isolate the screws from the mast and that some people recommend silicone. But what's the point of coating the back of hardware if it is going to sit against an Awlgripped surface? None of the Selden masts that I can recall were painted. An anodized mast might have different requirements.

rebuilding kenyon spar

you are right about not coating the backside of the fittings, this is for anodized masts, the use of zinc chromate coated monel rivets is a must. the mast should be prepped with alodine after sanding all the paint off ,then apply zinc chromate, its yellow, then awlgrip 524 epoxy primer, then the paint. you are right about it being expensive to have it done, that why I want to do it right once only!
I will coat the back of the fittings anyway, its not that much work to do, i have heard riggers use silicon to create a waterproff seal, and there is some quality silicon that will last 10 years, by 3M.
I think a seal is important to keep the moisture from building up behind the fittings. i am still looking at ways to do this job right, and welcome all info. Regards jeniii

Kenyon mast rebuilding

I own a 1984 Ericson 38 whose mast is in need of work - shows corrosion around all the SS fasteners. Thanks for the tip on Selden. Do they have a web site? Do they sell coated monel screws? There is a product called Alumelastic (not sure of spelling) that many people in Southern California use to coat SS fasteners before putting them in aluminum spars. I have also used it and found that it often makes it possible to unscrew a screw or bolt after it has been in the spar for years. Unfortunately, I don't think Kenyon used it on my mast, or if they did, it didn't work on my mast.

Rebuilding Kenyon spar

Captainpeter, I do not think screws are available, rivets yes, the size range you require for your spar are 4.8 X 12.7 MM, this is for the 3/16 inch dome head pop rivets, all your tee boxes require 1/4 inch dome head rivets grip length I will know later this week.
mY mast was unstepped last friday, lots of work!!, a good impact screw driver is a must to remove the threaded fastners, Rig Rite is the supplier for Kenyon parts, expensive!!
Let me know if you need more info. jeniii