J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment mast step

My mast step is at the forward limit of the four slots, yet the front of the step is more than the recommended 1" from the vertical step in the floor. Has anyone had this situation? Should one enlarge the slots or fill and redrill the holes in the floor to achieve the 1" measurement? What is under the fiberglass floor to hold the fasteners? Any advice is appreciated.

I had to drill new holes forward of existing holes to get to 1". The construction seems to be thick fiber glass with plywood and Vermiculate underneath. The hard part was to get the existing bolts out - two broke in the process.

Thank you. Mine had large stainless machine screws. All four came right out with an impact screw driver. I will fill the old holes with epoxy and drill new holes to get the 1". I will probably use similar hex bolts for easier removal in the future. I appreciate your response. I was reluctant to go into uncharted territory.

We had the opposite. When we prepped for the NAs, four years back, we found the step was not class legal. (Too far forward) When we pulled the rig, we discovered that we were all the way back, on the original holes, and that the boat had been that way since 1979. (Four clean holes, nice mark on the fiberglass, virgin fiberglass, with no hint of old holes) Took a week of soaking the screws and an impact driver to get those suckers to move. We re-filled, the holes with west, set the step where we wanted it, drilled new holes, and were set. I'd be very reluctant to enlarge the slots, you don't really want to be messing with a cast part.

- David