Mahogany mast?

[Thorne]

I picked up a very battered 13' mast about 2.5" in diameter yesterday
from somebody off Craigslist. The seller had no hint as to what type of boat it was from.

When I sanded off the dirt and ancient varnish, the wood was very red
-- and when treated with initial coats of boiled linseed oil and
turps, it really began to look like some sort of mahogany.

My familiarity with small boat masts is that they are usually spruce or fir -- was
mahogany commonly used, and is it a good material?

TIA

[John of Phoenix]

My familiarity with small boat masts is that they are usually spruce or fir -- was
mahogany commonly used, and is it a good material?
You are correct - spruce for its strength to weight ratio, fir as a good second.

Mahogany is a great boat building wood and, though it doesn't have the BEST s:w figures, it's fine for a mast, just a bit heavier.

[Thorne]

Thanks!

I was surprised -- pleased, but also surprised.

;- )

Did a quick websearch and found a few mentions of mahogany sailboat masts, but most seemed to be powerboad light-masts or model masts.

http://www.abyc.on.ca/buynsell/newbuynsell.shtml

[whb]

Some old growth fir has a really nice red color to it and looks an awful lot like mahogany.

Our old house trim is a combination of mahogany and fir and it is sometimes hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.

Howard

[kc8pql]

If the grain is closed, it may be dark fir. Mahogany has an open grain.

[Ralphw]

Doug fir end grain
http://shop.xylodom.com/images/douglasendgrain.jpg

mahogany end grain
http://ralphw.net/mahogany.jpg