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does it have to be aluminum? I have one from Jim young sailing that is plastic and S-glass for the butterfly class scow
After the better part of an afternoon spent sanding, I find myself bereft of fingerprints and varnish, at least on one half of the mast. I had originally started out using heat and a scraper, while the worked a treat on the square foot, it was less than satisfactory once the mast went oval.
Spark, #5942, is an old gal and will wear her gray with pride. While I did sand most of the dents and scars from the mast, there are some that are too deep to do safely, so she will keep those to wear with pride beneath her new covering of varnish. For the most part though, the sanded half of the mast looks almost new, just slightly darkened with age and some immersion at the foot. No rot, thank goodness, but I will be letting in new wood for all the screw holes.
Before:
After:
22.5 feet of lovely looking mast.
Now to rob a bank before my fingerprints return…
The photos suggest it, but I cannot find any evidence that anything was eating the wood. What is in there appears to be a paper product and the halyards look a bit worse for wear, but the wood of the mast itself, aside from being darkened by whatever the insects used for “glue” appears untouched.
As for my workbench, it is actually designed to help me build a Chesapeake Light Craft’s “Expedition Wherry” , I think Fyne boats in the UK handles their product line. As the Wherry is 17 feet in length, the work bench is just a bit short for the GP’s mast.
Oliver,
I appreciate the time you took to answer and share your expertise on the matter. I will indeed continue to keep the mast hound thru-bolted as you suggest. All of my previous boats have been aluminum masted which makes them much easier to care for. Now I just need to wait for spring to break so the temperatures climb enough for me to do any work.
good to know. 5942 Spark still wears her original rig as well. I even have her original sails along with the replacements. She was last campaigned in Stone Harbor NJ back in the early 1970s. Sadly she had been laid up in a barn since 1985, but I intend to change that this year when I float her for the first time in 33 years.
That does make sense on using correctors. It is the only way a boat like mine (5942) build in 1964 could be competitive with the newest boats. Not that I intend to race.
this is true, Oliver. My other boat is a SeaSprite 23, a GRP from 1962. When I purchased her 4 years ago, I had to rip out each and every bit of mahogany in her hull. This included the embedded parts. ALL of it was rotten. I hope to relaunch her this year.
Best way to keep wood from rotting in an epoxy boat is drill all mounting holes oversized and then fill with epoxy. Once it has hardened, drill through the epoxy to the proper size, apply sealant, and bolt everything back together. The epoxy will keep the ply from ever coming in contact with water even if the sealant around the mounting bolts or screws fails
I would never use the expanding foam stuff for filling a mast, especially a wooden on. the expanding foam will trap moisture over time and cause either rot in wood or corrosion in aluminum. It may also, someday, hold more water than it is buoyant if left in water too long. I can only assume that a few weeks in bright sunlight would be needed to dry it out.
