Mounting hardware

[DaveOnCudjoe]

I'm getting ready to rig my new CF masts. I'll be mounting SS sail track with mechanical fasteners and Gougeon ProSet epoxy(176/276). Does anyone have experience with this product that would be willing to offer advice? I have bought the 300x manual gun that will be available for loan after the project if anyone else is considering this product. Dave

[Greg Luckett]

I use West Systems epoxy but not this product you are asking about. I would also like to hear some feedback from folks who have used it.

[ecgossett]

My father (he was VP & head engineer) used this product to build laminated beams for above ground pools, using a gurgeon brothers designed 50 ft hydraulic beam press (to apply cont. pressure for days at a time if needed). Without talking to him to get the testing they did for various underwriter approvals it was an amazing product. Its an amazing product that can take some stress, even in pools much bigger then this. Water pressure outwards is always greatest at the top not bottom. The epoxy was also used for applications with the 3/4" Formica walls. Other applications included using it as fillers to fix broken equipment handles etc, and fixing a couple cracks on the plexiglass windows such as the pool in Bristol TN at the hospital.

 

That all being said I used the walmart brand of 3M 5400 on my sail track and then immediately riveted in place with aluminum rivets. The only rivet failure was in a severe car accident with the mast being severely warped and the failure was a couple rivets near the bottom. I noticed in the sun the mast got hot enough to laying on boat to burn through paint and blacken a little area on the deck. Not sure what this sort of heat would do to softening the epoxy.

 

[hokeyhydro]

Huh?So you're saying your mast - aluminum? - got so hot in the sun it burned your paint??? Sure it wasn't aluminum *rub* like tracks left by Al when it rubs against anything? Epoxy gets soft around 200 plus degrees F, so hot enough to burn paint would probably soften the goo underneath. It will get hard when it cools.

[ecgossett]

It was a round spot in the paint that was blackened. My mast is painted green.  It was Georgia son during Aug/Sep while moving. The mast at times was to hot for me to touch.

[hokeyhydro]

Wow. Best get some oven pads to insulate the mast from the painted surface. Be interesting to measure the actual mast temp under those conditions, and maybe take a second look at what kind of paint you use.I'm thinking if it scorched boat paint the mast paint would have blistered off.

[hokeyhydro]

Wow. Best get some oven pads to insulate the mast from the painted surface. Be interesting to measure the actual mast temp under those conditions, and maybe take a second look at what kind of paint you use.I'm thinking if it scorched boat paint the mast paint would have blistered off.

[ecgossett]

Some of the paint did peel a little bit. Dark green spray rustoleum for aluminum based surfaces. Masts usually sit on foam pool rollers, with cut off aluminum lengths from building masts in mast positions to tie mast against to keep centered.

[Garry]

Sorry Ed, I can't let this go. You said "Water pressure outwards is always greatest at the top not bottom." This is not true. The water pressure is greatest at the bottom. The pressure is equal to the weight of the water per unit area. Just as scuba divers have to deal with increasing pressure as they go deeper.

 

Maybe you meant something different. The pool construction is gorgeous. Notice how the middle beam is actually close to the bottom to help carry the extra load. The top beam could be lighter but is probably built as it is to match the others.

[PAR]

Dark surfaces in direct sun light, will reach about 150 degrees. This is enough to soften epoxy.

[ecgossett]

I know there was an engineering issue with the top beam having to be a specific size. It might be related to holding the walls in place. The beams are nice, not as beautiful as they used to be before the company got bought and the beams where subcontracted.

 

The new beams already had one wall failure in a hospital and my father is sure there will be more. For the lap end joints on the end they created a weakness that originally was not designed in. The beams where meant to be stacked for joints and bolted. This way the beam kept its full strength.