Proper wood for mast

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

As an amatuer working on his first boat I am submitting this in the most submissive posture available. I've heard about spruce/fir for the mast but am wondering if there is anything wrong with oak. I have started with shaping the oak mast for my Sanddollar and it is a bear to work. Once done though it will be a beaut. This boat will be used and then hauled out, not left in the water and exposed to the elements all summer. Is oak acceptable for the mast? What about spars? Different type of wood? Which one? Thank you so much for your input - it is invaluable!

[JeffH]

smile.gif By submitting yourself in this way, you're about to be hit with a whole slew of different opinions as to the "proper" wood for a mast. Generally speaking, though, you've heard right: softwoods are preferred for masts, since they tend to be relatively light and straight (and, incidentally, easy to work), both desirable charateristics. Which particular softwood you use depends on a whole range of variables based on relative bendiness, resistance to rot, lightness, price and availability, and so on. Oak, on the other hand, tends to be heavy and crooked, which is bad (at least for masts... It's good if you're looking for a nice swept piece for your stem). The less weight you have above the waterline, the more stable your boat will be and, thus, the better it will be at carrying sail. Now, in a boat as small as a sandollar, I don't suppose the relative increase in weight of oak vs. fir/spruce/whatever will be that much, but then small boats tend to be much more sensitive to weight and where you put it. It could be that you'll completely change the sailing characteristics of the boat, or it could do diddly squat and you'll have yourself a beautiful (if somewhat weighty) mast. I'lll leave that to the experts, whom will undoubtably follow.

Good luck!

Jeff

[ 03-21-2003, 07:47 PM: Message edited by: JeffH ]

[Bruce Taylor]

I'd stick with spruce. It's light, stiff, and looks the part. Oak puts unnecessary pounds aloft.

[Scott Rosen]

Hmmm. Since you've already started building the mast out of oak, I'm not sure why you are asking this question.

Oak will work, in the sense that it will stand up straight and hold the other spars and sails. It'll look really good varnished, especially because it will be the first oak mast that most people will have seen. ;) It is heavier, more expensive and much, much more difficult to work than spruce. You could even use Doug fir.

[George Roberts]

When you get tired of working on the mast, you can make one from a softer wood.

Is it red oak or white oak?

[Nicholas Carey]

Oak's too heavy. You want spruce or douglas fir. one pound aloft equals many pounds of ballast, functionally speaking. OTOH, your heavyweight oak mast should really dampen the roll period of your boat :D (The heavier the pendulum, the longer its period.)

[Lazy Jack]

Actually, Nicholas, the period of a pendulum is Independant of it's weight, but varies instead with the distance between it's center of gravity and the pivot point. Two different weight bobs on the same lenght string will swing with the same period. With this boat, the distance we're dealing with here is the vertical distance between the center of bouyancy and the center of gravity. So a heavier mast will indeed raise the CG and increase the roll period. Why do I go to great lengths to point this out? Its a problem that almost bit me during a physics final exam...Perhaps I should consult a therapist.

[ 03-22-2003, 05:40 PM: Message edited by: Lazy Jack ]

[TomRobb]

So Jack, how do you feel about that? :D

[TomRobb]

Captain, it may be possible that you're the first peraon to ever try to make a mast of oak. At least in modern times. Think Sitka spruce or maybe fir. Something a bit lighter. smile.gif

[ 03-24-2003, 08:24 AM: Message edited by: TomRobb ]

[Thaddeus J. Van Gilder]

I guess you could make an oak mast. My mast on IVY is long leaf, and that is just as dense as oak.

I would worry about the checking , though....

-THad

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

Hey Guys:

Thanks for the input - I'm grateful. Still don't know what I'll do. Probably plane away on it again (it has been collecting dust as I awaited your input - all the better for my memory of what a dickens it was to work to continue fading) and see how much stamina I have left. As to the weight issue it is ten feet long and my guess is that fir would have saved me a few pounds but not too much more. Arch (the designer) told me today that a softwood would be perhaps 25% lighter and that although he would not have chosen white oak there is no harm in a mast of oak. That is if you don't mind working it down - arghhh! Well looks like I have some more of plane... sharpen... plane... sharpen...

Of course I could just make it a row boat... Hmmm... yea... naw - to easy.