How old is your mast?

D

dskelly

New Member
Joined
4 Sep 2019
Messages
2
Visit site
Considering purchasing 40 year old boat in the new year. Overall she's in fair-good condition but pre-purchase survey did not include a thorough inspection of the mast. Ideally would liked to have had joins at points between different metal attachments carefully inspected. Just wondering if a mast of this age is likely to show significant corrosion and what are the prospects for it seeing me out for another another 10 or even 20 years during which I plan to do some long-distance bluewater cruising. Also, any idea of likely fitted cost of a new keel-stepped mast for a 35 footer? Thanks for any advice.
 
My mast is 40 years old this year and is fine. Could do with the mast sheaves replacing but structurally it is solid. It will depend on what sort of life it has had so whilst there is no reason that age in itself is a problem there are other factors so it should be checked over for peace of mind
 
I imagine there might be some interesting debate between the pros and cons of older and newer masts with respect to older ones more robustly constructed with thicker walls perhaps? Would be interested to know if the incidence of mast failures is more skewed towards older masts or if no there's no evidence of any correlation and newer masts equally prone to failure.
 
I've got laser masts with significant corrosion at about 10 years old, which includes a fair amount of careful use and even inland freshwater use.
A 40 year old mast is probably overbuilt and has stood the test of time by comparison.
You could usefully go over it looking for signs of corrosion at likely places, like where any big stainless fittings are riveted on.
 
dskelly said:
I imagine there might be some interesting debate between the pros and cons of older and newer masts with respect to older ones more robustly constructed with thicker walls perhaps? Would be interested to know if the incidence of mast failures is more skewed towards older masts or if no there's no evidence of any correlation and newer masts equally prone to failure.
Click to expand...
In my experience, mast failure is strongly linked to racing and collisions. Catching the rigging on a fixed object or boat going the other way does not discriminate between old, new, metal, carbon or wooden.

That's not to say that an old mast might not require some work or money spent.
 
What is the main cause of a mast going over the side. Is it the wire rigging failing or the actual mast itself. Then if it is the mast , is it because it is a 7/8 rig with a lot of bending during its life. Has it had damage from other causes , ie collision with a bridge or boat. How much rigging has it to support it. Ie does it have lowers going forward as well as aft & is there a lower forestay. these all help support the mast better than the lighter rigs of some modern AWBs such as my own which needs the rig stressed to 28% on the uppers for best performance on a 7/8 rig
I would suspect wire rigging fittings & spreaders being the main cause of failure in the first instance. The other failures one often reads about is the boom. I would be more concerned about that.
 
dskelly said:
Considering purchasing 40 year old boat in the new year. Overall she's in fair-good condition but pre-purchase survey did not include a thorough inspection of the mast. Ideally would liked to have had joins at points between different metal attachments carefully inspected. Just wondering if a mast of this age is likely to show significant corrosion and what are the prospects for it seeing me out for another another 10 or even 20 years during which I plan to do some long-distance bluewater cruising. Also, any idea of likely fitted cost of a new keel-stepped mast for a 35 footer? Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...


It takes quite a lot to scrap a mast. Corrosion under small fittings is quite common and needs to be sorted but is rarely a huge problem.

You should check the spreader area, the mast boot and the keel step plus any fittings that show even a trace of white beard at the edge. There are lots of 50 year old masts out there, I was just looking at the particulars of an old boat which had a fortune spent on re-fit but I notice they retained the original alloy mast.
 
59 years old and still going strong. Apparently made from an old aircraft spar. Inspected last year by three riggers (long story) and all 3 found different faults. Addressed them all, just to be on the safe side.
 
In your position I'd inspect it yourself as best you can, i.e. look under the floorboards at what it's like right at the foot, which includes the mast itself and the condition of whatever it's sitting on. Don't be shy about at least having a look with binoculars but if there are mast steps fitted I'd be up there like a rat up a drain pipe or even take a mate with you & have him winch you up. A reasonable owner shouldn't (IMHO) object...
 
A previous owner replaced our boat's 1973 mast in 1998 when holes were found behind most of the stainless fittings. It was a gold anodised Kemp mast. I guess it could have been repaired but then it might have put me off buying the boat....
 
53 years old. There was some corrosion at the foot caused by water collecting there due to inadequate draining arrangements. I had a close fitting sleeve welded on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top