Compression post

[svikhalana]

Dear All,

I know this has been covered already but I can't find my answers.

We are the proud owners of a 43DS, unfortunately she is showing signs of compression post problems.

I was wondering if it would be safe enough to sail her back to the UK from Gibraltar and get it fixed on her next haul out in the winter?
Rigging is only 2years old and in very good nick.

Many thanks in advance.

[MalcolmP]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on getting a 43DS.

I am sure you have seen the article: www.jeanneau-owners.com/hintsandtips/compressionpost.html

Guess the main issue to decide is if the rigging can stand enough tension to keep the mast in column. You mention the rigging is quite new, so presumably it was correctly adjusted a couple of years ago. If it hasn't slackened off too much subsequently I would expect you will be fine, lots of people sail with far to little rigging tension even if they have no compression post issue.

Unfortunately the trip back north to the UK may inevitably mean you will have headwinds quite a lot off the Portuguese coast, so potentially quite a bit of beating. It depends on your time available, but if you sail overnight and in the early morning you can often avoid the strongest of the afternoon sea breeze.

[svikhalana]

Thank you so much for your reply and thanks also re the 43ds, we hope she will be a great cruiser.

Yes we are going to be sailing in one go from Gib to A Caruna so it's day and night but we will be sailing conservatively. Reef early and so on.
I am aware that we might encounter those trades down the Portuguese coast but looks like they might be weaker at the start of April. That's when we are heading back.
Planning on waiting for a proper weather window in A Caruna before taking on Biscay.

We have given ourselves 3 weeks for the trip. I hope that's enough!

The rigging tension is still very good, we might just have some leaking windows on the trip.

Best Pieter.

[rob57]

We have a 43ds (2001) and she too had compression problems under the previous ownership. He sailed in in the ARC across to the Caribbean and subsequently found the compression issue once over there. He crossed the Atlantic therefore without issue but did eventually notice some leakage around saloon windows. It was dealt with in the proper way (replacing the footing in the saloon) and then re-sealing the windows etc. We bought the boat five years later knowing this had been done and have since sailed her from the UK to Greece without any problems. We adore the boat and lived aboard for a year as we meandered through the Med. My reply doesn't really address you question but I think the previous replies have tried to do so and I hope my little anecdote will give you confidence to do the work and then enjoy your sailing!

[alenka]

Hi,

You don't say what your symptoms are. Maybe if you could just expand a little others might be able to offer advice too.

[markevans]

Hello Pieter and welcome.

We know this problem pretty well. Because of the issues documented on this forum (thank you all!) it was a focal point for our surveys on nine 43DS around Europe just over a year ago, resulting in our purchasing such a 43DS in the UK with this very problem. I say focal point, not just because it was potentially a significant repair but that it also said much about the owners. Out of the 9 owners, only 1 new about the issue because he had repaired it. The other 8 only found out why their saloon windows were loose after our visit. Some remained in denial which I think was mainly a shock response. But since the owners were all weekend sailors rather than cruisers, they probably never had the time or inclination to get down and dirty. Maybe 1 was lying but that's all. The point I'm trying to make is ignorance can be bliss. These people had been merrily sailing and some quite hard, without issues. Does this answer your specific question? Not really but I don't think anyone can make this call other than you, based on your sailing experience and knowledge of this specific boat and your sea trials.

The thing I find hard to believe is that the issue wasn't there on your boat when the previous owner re-rigged. Maybe everyone was on deck looking skyward! From what I've seen this is a progressive failure not an instantaneous one.

We fixed the problem once and for all ourselves and decided to re-rig at that same time. And I'm getting ever closer to replacing the saloon windows. When you return to the UK, I'd be happy to show you exactly how we chose to do this and the issues we encountered. Once day I might even have time to give a complete account for Malcolm et al. In the meantime, coffee break is over and it is back to boat work on the hard at Hayling Island with a view to heading the other way to you this autumn.

Good luck.