• Welcome to this website/forum for people interested in the Morgan 38 Sailboat. Many of our members are 'owners' of Morgan 38s, but you don't need to be an owner to Register/Join.

Mast collar/boot for Morgan '84 384

G

Greg H

New Member
Hello everyone -

I am looking for a mast collar/boot for our "new to us" Morgan 384. We had to cut the old one off prior to removing the mast for transport.

Does anyone have a source for these? My general internet search has not provided an option for the 384 mast. The mast is taller than the 382, is the cross section the same between the two boats?

Thank you,

Greg
 
I got a mast boot from WaterBoot.com. I have a sunbrella cover over that. They may have dimensions for the 382, I don't remember. And I do not know if, but suspect that, the mast dimensions are the same on the 383.
The mast collar on my 382 is not deep enough to make the installation of the boot easy, but it is doable with care and patience. I use SparTite for the partners. That too takes care so it does not dribble down the mast and sets up evenly. If possible, you want the SparTite to come out with the mast when you unstep the mast and the shape of the collar also makes this difficult. Again, the collar is not as deep as it could/should be. I don't remember how I dealt with that. Maybe I put lube on the mast itself, so the SparTite will stay in the boat.
Another thing: The 382 step (and perhaps the 383) is not well designed. It is a standing lip that the mast slips over. But both parts are aluminum. They are constantly wet from the water coming down the mast in the rain. Even though anodized, over time they corrode and weld themselves together. The mast will not come up. This last time I coated everything with TefGel to try to prevent that. I wish I had used Duralac on one of the surfaces before I put on the TefGel. I have not pulled the mast in 4 years, so I don't know if the TefGel has prevented the corrosion/welding.
I recommend you join Attainable Adventure Cruising and read John Harries discussion on SparTite, WaterBoot, and rig tuning. I have been sailing for decades and I still learn things from John.
 
Hi Terry -

Thanks for the reply and suggestions, I will check out Attainable Adventure Cruising. One of the things I enjoy about sailing is the never ending learning curve. I too have been sailing (mostly racing) for decades but with the move to the Morgan 384 I consider myself a "cruising newbie". I experienced the same situation with the mast step, when pulling (trying to pull) the mast in Florida we had 2000 lbs. of pressure on the mast and it did not move, we finally unbolted the mast step from the floor/sump/bilge or whatever structural element was down there, raised the mast enough to get the mast step above the floor and hammered it off (gently) ... lots of corrosion. I was wondering about a product that would help reduce the corrosion build up over the next years. Being on Lake Michigan rather than the Atlantic may help some but... I will take a look at the Duralac and TefGel.
 
I made a boot from cutting a section of truck tire. It was only about 5 dollars sold as surplus for rafting on a river. The toroidal shape of the tire makes the shape of the piece you cut out correct. Then a sunbrella cover over that. I plan to upgrade to SparTite in the future.
 
I did something similar, used 1/16" sheet rubber and cut two strips, used butyl tape to seal the front and back joints and long strip hose clamps to clamp to mast and base. I will replace and improve this soon with semi elliptical shapes to eliminate wrinkles, but MUCH better than the duct tape and home window glazing putty it had.
 
Thanks guys! I think I will investigate some rubber material, tape and clamps and see how it goes.
 
You can make a boot using EPDM roofing rubber. Lumber yards have it in big rolls, and pretty cheap. It is sort of like inner tube material. They also sell an adhesive for gluing the rubber on a roof. Geocel 4500 is one brand, comes in a caulk tube. Make sure it says it is for EPDM.

You need to cut out a shape that will look like a large letter "C" with the outer length of the side equal to the perimeter of the mast opening flange on the deck, and inner length equal to the perimeter of the mast. Add about 3 " or so longer to overlap the ends. The width between inner and outer cuts should be 8" or 10". That will give you a conical shape boot that stays on the mast when they remove it.

Best to install it with the mast up, so you can you can fit it and glue the ends together with the Geocel. Clamp it top and bottom with long hose clamps.

Mine is about 10 years old now and doing fine. Since it is rubber roofing it is resistant to sun, so I don't think you need a sunbrella cover,
 
  • Like
Reactions: DGA
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top