This is what I did.  Whether you choose to follow it is up to you.

 

- Carefully drill out to the retaining rivet for the plastic mast base plug (some people might have a retaining screw?)

- carefully tap out the plastic mast base plug, working around with a very large flat e.g. screwdriver at 120 degree rotation so as not to cam the plug in the mast, be patient and don't strike the mast itself lest you damage it;

- cleaned again.

 NOTE: If you've left the mast collar loose and rotating for too long, you might have worn away the inner surface and need to purchase a new replacement collar so that the collar is a tight and not a floppy fit which will be difficult to centre on the mast (I tried that once, it's not worth the effort).

 

To re-attach, I've:

- Made sure to work out the collar location beforehand, by sitting the mast in the mast step, allowing also for the height of the mast base plug; 

- slid the collar up the mast into place. Don't worry if some of the Sikaflex gets left behind lower down the mast, that's why you used lots of masking tape - you just want to be sure that you've got as much Sikaflex pre-packed in the slots and grooves as you can, a little bit of waste is a small price for good adhesion;

- pushed additional Sikaflex up under the lower rim of collar (you can use some of the stuff off the masking tape that you left lower down the mast);
- cleaned up excess sikaflex with a rag / paper towels, and left a careful reinforcing taper rim of Sikaflex above and below the top and bottom rims of the collar (I used the straight edge of a credit card, although you could probably also use the blunt edge of a gloved finger);

- leave the Sikaflex to just start to set;
- carefully remove the masking tape alongside the taper rims of Sikaflex, and off the outside of the Collar (if you leave it too long, you might end up tearing the masking tape leaving a layer buried under the Sikaflex);
- remove the rest of the masking tape the next day;
- leave the mast in a damp spot for at least a week or more for the Sikaflex to cure (cure relies on moisture/humidity, if you're enjoying a dry summer, wrap in a a damp paper towel and plastic and leave in a sunny spot);
- tap the mast plug back in with a block of wood, not a plain hammer;
- drill a new hole in the plastic plug, through the existing hole in the mast base (remember, Selden warranty void if user drills additional holes in their mast, I believe.  Don't even try to line up the old hole in the plastic plug, if you succeed 100% you need to buy a lottery ticket);
- fix new rivet to retain the mast plug (after all that tapping, you might not think it can move again, but yes it can, that's why the rivet is there in the first place).

When sailing, lubricate your collar and mast step, and make sure you don't get grit / dirt between the surfaces otherwise you're going to grind something away eventually, and if there's too much grit, somethings gotta give (better the Sikaflex in the collar than the mast step in the boat, but you've now done quite a bit to ensure the Sikaflex joint won't fail).

Happy Sailing!
Cheers, 

Ron  

 

Thanks Gareth, that sounds like a very good (best?) solution, and certainly the one I'll use next time, assuming the collar itself isn't damaged. Is this a common issue? I'll certainly be checking it after every sail from now on.

Thanks again for your reply.

Malcolm

PS isn't it great to be back on the water - maybe we'll get to race sometime soon!

malcamp,

For removing the base, the flange on the base is slightly wider than the mast and can be tapped with something thin but blunt, like a hammer against a large fat headed screw driver.

 

The screw/rivet holding the mast base in to the mast is important, without it the mast base can eventually work lose despite the good 'interference fit' . It could then fall out before or during stepping the mast leading to bad things happening. It was added after the first few months of production with a retro fit kit sent to the early owners. (Credited as 'the Ffinlo Fix').

After one season of sailing (maybe just 30 days, but mostly in high winds), I discovered when taking my Aero out of its winter wraps a week or so ago, that the mast collar had come loose. No idea exactly when this had happened as it's not something I'd check regularly (mast is left in place on the dinghy berth during the season). RS have a replacement 'kit' which I bought (about £30), and which includes everything (?) you need to replace/re-fix it. All well and good, I thought. In order to fit/remove a mast collar, you first have to remove the mast foot plug which may be secured by either a single rivet, or a self-tapping screw (the kit contains replacements for both). In my case, it was a rivet, so that had to be drilled out which I did carefully, using progressively bigger drill bits. OK, so now I just pull it out! Ha Ha. The instructions in the kit suggest "If it needs encouragement, a long robust item can be inserted into the mast and the plug tapped out". Well, if the 'plug' was an actual plug, and you had a rigid pole longer the mast section, then this might be possible. However, the 'plug' is basically a 5cm long hard plastic/nylon cylinder with walls about 5mm thick with a flange to protect the bottom of the mast and the hull, which has been tapped/hammered in to give what I would describe in engineering terms as an 'interference fit'. (Not sure why it needs a rivet to hold it in place!) So unless your 'long robust item' has a solid end piece close to the internal diameter of the mast section, there's no way you can tap it out. Having tried everything I could think of to shift it, I eventually hacksawed off a bit if the flange and then carefully drilled close parallel holes down the length of the plug walls until it collapsed sufficiently to make it possible to grab a protruding bit of the hacksawed flange with a mole-wrench and pull it out. The notes say "We have supplied a replacement so it doesn't matter if the heel plug is damaged" Ha Ha. So the moral of this story is:

1. Check your mast collar regularly

2. Don't expect it's going to be an easy job to replace/repair it. 

Maybe RS could provide a tool in the form of a suitable long robust item?!