Aluminium tube supplier

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hamishb

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Does anyone know where I can get hold of a 4m length of anodised Aluminium tube without getting ripped off by the mast and rigging folks at the marina. I have the spinnaker pole ends and now just need the tube. Have tried Baco ( was Alcan ) plus a few others and where the 70mm outer diameter seems pretty standard, the 65mm inner diameter ( ie 2.5mm wall thickness ) seems to stump all the suppliers so far.
I wonder where Selden gets theirs ? Perhaps they make it themselves and purposely select non-standard dimension to stop people like me making my own spi pole for a fraction of their retail price. ( the full works, incl ends, was going to be £265+ )
I may be forced in the end to have to pay the £100 or so at the marina, but it is daylight robbery for a hollow bit of Al pipe !!
Suggestions please ?
 
Almost certainly Seldon and others have the tube extruded for themselves, not necessarily to stop you doing DIY but a question of strength, lightness and 'fit for purpose'. If they could buy standard tube they would as it would be cheaper and there would be no tooling charges.
Investigate using standard tubing witha smaller ID than you require and having the internal ends machined down to suit your fittings = OR turning down the fittings to suit the tube? - if there is enough material on them to allow this.
You will probably end up with a heavier pole though...
You could try other mast suppliers, I've used Z-Spars at Hadleigh(www.z-spars.co.uk) in the past and they are willing to sell bits and pieces. not sure where you are based but transport could be a problem.

dickh
I'd rather be sailing...
 
Look for "Aluminium Stockholders" or "non-ferrous metal supplies" in your Yellow Pages. You'll get something pretty cheap but it is likely to be a pretty soft "general purpose" grade. It also won't be anodised so you might suffer corrosion problems.
 
I'm afraid you'll not find it easy to purchase a ready-anodised, piece of marine-grade hard aluminium.
The only people who use it are sparmakers, generally they own the dies through which the sections are extruded for them by the aluminium producing companies.
Most stockholders don't bother to carry it and getting it in for a ha'penny order is just too much trouble.

Your best chance of getting some "cheap" tube is hanging round a sparmaker for some off cuts. Of course anything long enough to be used for a spinnaker pole is unlikely to be considered an off-cut.

Try, in the UK, Z-Spars UK at Brett Works, Pound lane, Hadleigh, IP7 5EH tel 01473 822130 - you'll find them the least grasping of the UK sparmakers.
Alternatively buy in France at about 60% of the price (but not from chandlers)
 
I bought some from....

Bell Woodworking in Leicester who used to make Mirror dinghies and others. It was the standard tube they used for Miracle masts. THAT wasn't to any special manufacture but was of 2.5mm wall thickness. After we sold the inflatable for who's experimental mast it was bought the pole lay in our gagare loft for years. It next saw service as an ensign staff in our garden for the Jubillee where it still stands.

Long story but it shows that this stuff is still available. I did think of turning it into a genoa pole but found the end fittings increasingly more difficult to come by at an economical price.

So try inland sailing clubs. Someone might just have a mast for sale that could suit. Might be a few unwanted rivet holes though.

Steve Cronin
 
Also try Boat Jumbles - you could possible pick up a piece of tubing or an old spar and cut to length.

dickh
I'd rather be sailing...
 
Is all aluminium the same weight. I may be talking rubbish but would a heavier/lighter pole adversely affect the performance of the spinnaker?

Yes, you're right, talking bo**ox and trying to up my post count. 1000 Club here we come.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/forbsie>My Project Pics</A>
 
Try Aalco or other aluminium stock holders but you will have to anodise it yourself.
If you can't get 70 OD * 2.5 you should be able to get 2 3/4" (69.88mm) * 1/8" to give an ID of 63.5 that you can bore out to suit your fittings.

Martin
 
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