Cutting a carbon fiber mast

[pmdoughty]

I am interested in buying a 15' catboat that has a carbon-fiber mast (for a marconi rig) glassed to the hull. I need to make it trailerable so I will need to cut the mast. Can I cut it with a regular hacksaw (while protecting myself from the carbon-fiber dust)?

I'm thinking of making a sleeve underneath the deck that would support the two piece mast from the hull to the deck. Essentially it would be a very deep mast-step. See the (very) rough schematic below. I think I would need to epoxy the sleeve to the hull and deck for stability while making sure the sleeve can drain at the hull.

I=mast
//=sleeve

_____ deck
/I/
/I/ <---mast cut here
/I/
------ hull

This seems to me the most aesthetically pleasing and easiest to fabricate solution to making the boat trailerable. I am not worried about single-handedly stepping the carbon-fiber mast so I don't think I need a hinge or anything like that. I am open to all advice.

[John Meachen]

If I understand correctly,you have a mast that has been bonded to the hull.Something I have never heard of before.If you need to remove it for trailing,you will be able to cut it with a hacksaw.I would suggest that you make the cut as low as possible in order that the stub left in the boat can be converted to a mast step.An inch or two would be about right.You can drill a drain hole on the centreline and you would have a choice of using a sleeve for location or creating the traditional mortise and tenon type step.

[Pete Dorr]

A far as cutting the carbon fiber mast:

Use a hacksaw, preferrably a blade with high teeth per inch count and sharp. You might try wrapping a layer of masking tape around the mast before cutting to help keep the cut clean.

But I really can't think of why your mast would be glassed to the hull - that makes no sense. Are you sure about that. Could it just be stuck ?

Can you post a picture ?

[brian.cunningham]

Sounds like someone solution to a leaking deck-to-mast joint.

Debond the mast from the deck, with a grinder if you have to. Try to keep from cutting the upper layers in the mast so you don't weaken it.

Then do as the other have suggested.

[MJC]

I'd need to know more about how the "mast is bonded to the hull".

Cutting the mast where you indicated should work, but composite masts often have more material and even an internal plug at the mast step, so you may need to 'beef up' the mast in the area of the sleeve after cutting it.

The lower you cut the mast, the better. Best would be to "de-bond" the mast from the hull.

This is weird, why would anyone bond the mast to the hull?

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

Is it possible you could just break the resin bond to the hull using a heat gun? If the hull material will tolerate it you may be able to soften the resin and break the bond a section at a time.
In the end you are going to have to clear away all the unwanted debris anyway to fashion a proper mast/maststep set-up.
Charlie

[Art Read]

I'm having a hard time picturing ANY scenario where one would want to FIX a mast to the hull. Can anyone think of another boat with the mast "glued" in? Hell, even square rigger's masts can be pulled. A fixed mast on a fourteen foot boat just doesn't make sense. How are you gonna trailer it? Or stash it under the house for winter? Or replace it when you tow it under a low hanging branch?

[Tom Robb]

The world is full of idiots. :rolleyes:
In these here United States of America we usually send them to our legislatures to keep them away from our boats and our womenfolk :D

[ 06-05-2005, 03:42 PM: Message edited by: Tom Robb ]

[pmdoughty]

Well I took a look at the boat this weekend. I guess I was thinking too hard and got ahead of myself. The owner claimed the mast was fiberglassed to the hull, but it appears that the previous owner just used fiberglass tape to beef up the mast step to provide a base for the flat bottomed (wide) carbon fiber mast. The mast is jammed through the deck pretty good and not easily moveable. (I couldn't budge it.) There is virtually no clearance. A call to the previous owner confirmed this. He also said that two or three strong guys ought to be able to manhandle it out because that is how they got it in. (I think block and tackle or some other aid might be smarter.)

Thanks for the good advice on cutting carbon fiber and mast-stepping as well as the good-natured humor.

We're going to pull it out of the water soon to validate the previous owner's claims as well as check out the bottom.

If all goes well, I will be building a new rig for the boat over the summer (and fall, maybe winter?) I have built spars for a Bolger/Payson Bobcat but this will be a step up. I'm sure I will be posting for tips. I'd like to birds-mouth the mast, make a fine set of jaws, and hinge the mast for trailering.

Pete
with catboat fever in MD

[Mike Vogdes]

If its just jammed into the hole really tight you might try a little WD-40 and a oil filter wrench.