I have a 1974 32-2. It was built without a compression pole. I guess when the deck got soft someone put in a pole to go from the mast step to the keel. It was right in the middle of the door that used to close between the V birth and the cabin. I took the cabin deck off to rebuild it and decided to go back to original design. When I took out the pole it had a base under the deck that the step plate bolted to. it is part of the pole. I want to know if there was a plate under the fiberglass for the mast step or how does the mast step attach to the deck.
tenders
Innocent Bystander
My 1969 32-2 has a bulkhead that spans the distance between the port side of the boat and midships. The starboard edge of the bulkhead is directly underneath the mast, and it is edged with a compression post maybe 2" x 2" square that I think is mahogany. It looks like the edge of the bulkhead, but it's structural. I'd be surprised if your boat didn't have this, although it's my understanding that some 32s might have the bulkhead on the port side of the boat rather than the starboard side.
Originally the compression post just sat under the mast but over time the overhead/deck area between the mast and the post flexed a bit, and the post deformed the hull liner so that it sagged down around the post. Ericson recognized this in the mid-70s and recommended that a 4 x 4" metal plate be inserted between the post and the overhead to better spread the load across the hull.
It's a very simple repair involving loosening the rigging, jacking up the headliner, and slipping in the metal plate.
That's what my boat has now.
From the top of the boat, my mast slips onto a male deck fitting that's bolted or screwed into the deck and rests on top of a "witch's head" plate that spreads the load, and has a series of holes around it to which blocks are attached for the running rigging. I don't know what's under that deck fitting and witch's head -- I've never had to take them off.
Originally the compression post just sat under the mast but over time the overhead/deck area between the mast and the post flexed a bit, and the post deformed the hull liner so that it sagged down around the post. Ericson recognized this in the mid-70s and recommended that a 4 x 4" metal plate be inserted between the post and the overhead to better spread the load across the hull.
It's a very simple repair involving loosening the rigging, jacking up the headliner, and slipping in the metal plate.
That's what my boat has now.
From the top of the boat, my mast slips onto a male deck fitting that's bolted or screwed into the deck and rests on top of a "witch's head" plate that spreads the load, and has a series of holes around it to which blocks are attached for the running rigging. I don't know what's under that deck fitting and witch's head -- I've never had to take them off.