Wooden masts repairs

[fienney]

What do I do? We are looking at buying a boat (offer in and accepted) with 2 spruce masts. The masts were re-glued and over hauled in 2001 but 2 years ago the glue gave way and now the mast has a bend. The owner said they didnt use the right system at the time. The inside is hollow and it was treated at that time with antifungal etc. The drainage is good.But 2 years with the mast/timber exposed to the elements Do we get the mast re-built/glued ,or do we replace them with aluminum masts .Has any one done this, is there a big difference in weight , timber vs aluminum? Would it be cheaper in the long run,? All comments appreciated.

[Dan McCosh]

Not sure what the situation is. Assuming the mast (box section?) has bad glue joints, it should be possible to take it apart, machine the surfaces, and re-glue. Can't tell from the description what the condition is, however. An aluminum mast likely would be cheaper, lighter and stronger that spruce, just not as cool.
Also-don't know what the size is. New masts are another alternative.

[Mrleft8]

Also may depend on location. Have an experienced wooden boat surveyor or at least builder/restorer, look at your existing mast.
Can you post pictures? Where is the mast located? (Not: "in a boat yard"....But more like; "In Camden, Maine".)

[fienney]

The boat is in Seattle. The main mast is 80ft.
The last quote from 8 months ago is 22,000 plus extras so probably 30,000 to pull out and fix and re install...

[Vinny&Shawn]

If you are an accomplished wood worker and would atempt the repairs on your own, you should be able to succeed in a proper repair. If you have the money to have it done maybe you can participate to save money,again if it is an issue.
Research proper cleanup and glueing techniques,probably having the original plans would be helpful,the mast might of been built with camber,taper,etc.
Build a shed,if the wood is good it can be reused as mentioned before,have plenty of the right clamping equipment. Good Luck,Vinny

[redbopeep]

Building a mast bench to work on an 80' mast is not a trivial matter. And finding a place to do it...?

Don't recall the guy's name but there's a spar guy over in Port Townsend, right on the harbor who operates his shop out of a building that had something to do with a bowling alley...don't remember but hopefully one of the Port Townsend folks can tell you his name and all. Tall, thin, light-haired guy. Maybe call him among your other choices.

Stick with the spruce if the boat is a classic. If the boat is plastic, well, umm...what boat is this anyway? 80' is a tall mast. Not a small boat.

[Jay Greer]

Bruce Tipton is the spar maker in port townsend that can handle a mast the size of yours. My shop is limited to sixty foot spars.
Jay

[George Roberts]

A mast that fails may be improperly designed for the task.

I would have some engineering done before having this one fixed.

[paladin]

Follow Jay's advice on this one......but...if you do the work yourself you must clean the old glue out before reglueing the spar...if you use epoxy you can easily reclamp the spar with wedges and inner tube rubber bands. I would stay with the wood spar if it is salvageable, and it will give you the opportunity to check any and all wiring and add new cables or a pennant. If you reglue and use epoxy it will aslo allow you to re coat the interior with something like CPES, then epoxy coat the outside before varnish.

[pcford]

I have only slight experience in this field, but here is my tale:

I was called up to repair a wooden mast. Probably 55 ft. It had be glue up with a glue like Weldwood and of course it had let go.

The problem was that the wood in the way of the joint was rotten. Spruce has very low rot resistance and the fungus had made itself a fine home. Wood was not obviously punky but the chips did not come out clean and hard like they should and there was a slight funky smell.

The place to get this stuff done in Seattle was Shepherd Millwork in Seattle. They are listed on google but the number given is disconnected. I have not heard anything about them in years, however.

[Dale Genther]

When we had to have the 55 ft. mast on our sloop, Boreal, repaired the guy who did it quoted me $5000 to do the repair. It was split in a couple of places and had some rot inside. Then he said that I may want to consider another option. He said he would build me a new one for the same price. I took the "new" option. This was back in 1994 so I'm sure it would cost more now. BTW at that time we got a quote on an aluminum mast and that was about $7000.

[Jay Greer]

I will be coming across the pond in a week or two. I could take a look at your stick at no charge. You can post a private message to me if you wish.
Jay

[fienney]

Thanks for the advice, looks like we are backing out of the deal ,more work than we thought is needed. Anyone got a nice boat great for a family to cruise and live on? I guess there are resons why plastic boats are more practical...more sailing, less vanish...rot and surprises...but just not as pride worthy...have looked at the plastic boat forum... I dont belong there...