Alberg 30 Refit: Digging into the Mast Support Beam

Over the last few days I've been digging into the mast beam, carefully. I have not been too happy with what I have been uncovering. I am going at this slowly because I just don't know what is under the liner, and I don't want to cause any further damage by being careless. 

Below are photos of what I have found so far. 

I used a large flat blade screwdriver and began digging into the loose layup. I was able to dig all of the loose area out in just a few minutes....it's no wonder the liner on my Alberg cracked and folded in on itself....it was paper thin and wasn't made very well at all.

The port or left side of the liner appears to be in better shape but it still isn't anything to brag about. The marks you see are measurement points. I am making a brace that will be epoxied and bolted through the main beam to add strength to the beam structure (more about that in a future post).

After taking a pneumatic disc sander to the area I uncovered many voids and poor layup areas. The G10 board below the main beam is part of my plan to add structural integrity to the existing beam. I am working on a blog post to explain, in detail, my plans for the mast beam reinforcement; but for now just to summarize it: I am going to add an archway that ties the two bulkheads together to help distribute the pressure of the main beam.

More loose and poorly laid up fiberglass on the port side but luckily it didn't extend out nearly as far as the starboard side.  

Another huge void and poor layup on starboard side.

A close up of the void. I will fill this area with thickened epoxy.

I intend to grind out all that loose stuff from the beam area. Once it's cleaned up I will add a few layers of biaxial fiberglass cloth, making a nice smooth surface to begin the repair work.

A short video showing what I discovered in the main beam area and a peek into my Master Plan to add reinforcement to the mast support beam.

Making progress!