Doug Fir Mast/Preservation

[Lion]

Aquired a 30ft x 8in mast from a 40+ year old schooner hulk of old growth Douglas Fir/Oregon about the middle of last year in excellent condition for the Catboat project. Given its age and weathering I assumed that it would be stable but I have noticed recently that some of the vertical checks are opening up some more.

Should I be worried about this, and if so, what to do? It may be at least a year before I start whittling it down to size and varnishing etc. Its exposed to the elements, horizontal on timber bearers up off the ground and protected from the western sun.

Lion

[Dave Hadfield]

I spoke to the former skipper of Highlander Sea http://www.maritimecapitalgl.com/highlandersea04.html which has DF masts, and he was using Vaseline, believe it or not. Said it worked like a charm.

Sure looked nice.

[SailBoatDude]

This is from a prior post, but seems appropriate

Grown masts are living, breathing beings. They have personalities, mood swings and days they don't look as good as others. Think of the checks as character lines in the face and body of your friend the stick. As we do, they age and developed these checks. Sometimes they appear then disappear, sometimes they get bigger, it really depends on the mood the mast is in when you show up at the dock. If you've been away for a while, surely the stick is depressed and looking a bit sad, but slather on some love and it'll perk up again.

Don't seal the checks. The condition of the stick should be apparent with regular inspections. Good varnish, oil or paint applied BEFORE the old coating dies will keep old grown masts in good order and feeling good about themselves.

Checking is the nature of grown masts. Cabinet grade finishes can only be had with more stable mast construction. Unless you can relieve some of the stresses inside the stick (consider these issues) you going to have checks. Built up masts have smaller pieces and less internal stress (think of these as a community of folks striving to be the best mast they can be, building on the strength of the others)

I've seen some attempts to close up checks, but none have convinced me they are a good idea or work well. If the mast is doing it's job and not acting different (more issues) then all is probably well. If the stick is doing things it hasn't before and the rig is correctly tensioned, you could run it through a MRI machine at the local clinic and see if there are any weak areas needing attention. I just had my gall bladder removed and I'm younger then quite a few grown masts I know.

They have a lot harder job then me, standing up to half a gale before I put the hanky on the head stay or tuck in another reef. You wouldn't see me holding up 500 sq. ft. of sail in a good press without bitching and moaning a lot more then they do . . . We just have to accept the fact that they are what they are and sow's ears rarely become silk purses. I don't ask my dogs to use the litter box in the laundry room either . . .