In 1986 Hinterhoeller offered to replace all spars from boats number 1 to 185. I purchased boat number 177 in 1997. It appears to me that the owner of this Nonsuch did not take advantage of this replacement offer. I learned of this offer around 2000. I understand that the bolts that attach the bracket located a few inches above the deck sometimes caused cracks in the aluminum mast which were considered a threat to the integrity of the mast. This bracket has functioned well for me during the 28 years I have owned the boat. I do not see any of these cracks in the mast. The time has come for me to retire from sailing. I would appreciate comments from anyone familiar with this replacement offer. Is this mast considered safe? I do not want to sell this boat if this mast is unsafe.
Robert McPeek
Pau Hana
Nonsuch 30C
I have ’Nonsuch’, the first one and it appears that the lower mast section was not replaced. I still have the two holes and a rod which pins the mast from lifting. I no longer use the pin. For what it is worth I carefully filed and sanded the inside of the holes to eliminate any stress risers. When the mast sections were replaced Hinterhoeller added a mini-stay inside the boat to hold the mast down. Do you have this? If so, I don’t see any issue.
Bruce Clark
Nonsuch. N30 Classic
Whitby YC, Lake Ontario
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I tend to agree with Bruce and is what I remember of the posts maybe 10 or 15 years ago.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Hi Bruce and Joe,
Thank you for your quick response. I think we may be discussing two different parts of the mast rigging. About 8"-10" above the deck there is a collar that appears to be made of cast aluminum that has 5 turning blocks attached. Four for reefing lines and one for topping lift line. This collar is attached to the mast with 6 bolts. The halyard block is separate and is attached directly to the mast. I understand that Hinterhoeller offered to replace the mast because cracks were forming on the mast where one or more of these bolts penetrated it. Hinterhoeller also replaced the cast aluminum collar with a stainless steel collar that was clamped tight to itself and did not require any bolts through the mast. The stainless bracket is seen on all “newer” Nonsuch boats. I do not see any cracks in my mast at these points. Here is a paragraph I’ve taken from the Hinterhoeller letter dated March 27,1986..“Between now and the Fall, we can and will replace all spars that show a crack or cracks longer than 1/4” at the deck collar pinhole, or any hole two feet above or one foot below that location."
I don’t see any cracks in the mast . I want to be certain that my mast is safe before I sell the boat.. I look forward to hearing from other owners of “old” Nonsuches with similar concerns and/or experiences.
Fair Winds,
Robert McPeek
Pau Hana, Nonsuch 30C
San Francisco, CA
Robert,
First off, sorry to see you go. although the time comes for all of us when it’s a necessary choice.
I’d strongly suggest that you take advantage of the INA’s on-retainer consulting arrangement with Mike Quill to ask the original Nonsuch rigger what he specifically advises regarding your mast. I’m sure he can give you good advice on how to make the mast as safe as possible under the conditions.
There’s also a factory maintenance document at the INA website that appears to be about the same time frame as the letter you mentioned. It gives a good list of what should be done for best practices with the mast.
Access to that document and to Mike can be found at the www.Nonsuch.org website. Open the MEMBERS tab and click on MAINTENANCE. The link to Mike is at the top, the document can be found by scrolling down to the section titled, Spars and Rigging Technical Info.
Mike might be a good source for a quote on remedial work. At a minimum, he could probably tell you what work would be needed so you could get a quote from a local yard.
IMHO, your situation is analogous to selling a house in a flood zone. Problems are not guaranteed to occur, but the risk is higher. Thus, there’s an ethical obligation to disclose. That, in turn, may affect pricing. But it doesn’t completely preclude offering the boat up; there are informed, knowledgeable, and capable buyers out there who would know what they’re getting into.
– Bob