Timber masts

Resorcinol requires a clean wood surface, while epoxy will stick to other glues. And, be very careful about temperature with resorcinol...... with epoxy
Agreed. PBO may have used it, but resorcinol is the wrong choice. It it not good for gap filling, requiring a perfect mating of the surfaces, is fussy about the setting conditions and has been found not to be completely waterproof. Epoxy is the stuff. NB Epoxy's main enemy is UV. If you end up with big blobs of it filling gaps where the sun can shine on it it will degrade eventually even if you coat with a UV protecting varnish.
 
Paddingtonbear recommended I talk to Chris Halls at Frank Halls & Sons of Walton (actually Chris was away then so it's been Trevor who has been my point of contact). So glad I got them to split it; there was significant internal rot at the base, which I don't think is related to the darkened base/rough appearance of the base. You can see water marks at the various pulleys/mast band bolts/wiring entries. As can be seen from the photo's there is a solid central section with a groove cut for the wiring, but apart from that it's hollow.
 
Wow - I wonder if that dirty great sheave was original? My Crabber mast didn't have that, all the blocks were external. It's fairly obvious that that arrangement is going to bring water inside the mast - it must be positively flooding in when hoisting the sail on a rainy day and the sodden halyard gets wrung out over the wheel.

The only openings in my mast were for wiring, one at the hounds and one at the masthead. Both sloped upwards to discourage water entry, and were well plugged with silicone anyway. (Only place I used it on the boat, idea being that it would be easier to dig out than sikaflex etc when wiring needed changing.)

Pete
 
Wow - I wonder if that dirty great sheave was original? My Crabber mast didn't have that, all the blocks were external. It's fairly obvious that that arrangement is going to bring water inside the mast - it must be positively flooding in when hoisting the sail on a rainy day and the sodden halyard gets wrung out over the wheel.

The only openings in my mast were for wiring, one at the hounds and one at the masthead. Both sloped upwards to discourage water entry, and were well plugged with silicone anyway. (Only place I used it on the boat, idea being that it would be easier to dig out than sikaflex etc when wiring needed changing.)

Pete

Yes, definitely original on the mk1 24's. Does seem a bit silly now you come to mention it. Worried now!
 
Yes, definitely original on the mk1 24's. Does seem a bit silly now you come to mention it. Worried now!

It would be ok if the hollow part didn't join up with the sheave opening. My bowsprit, bumkin, and mizzen mast all had sheaves in, but the slot was closed, not communicating with any hollow interior. I made sure the inside faces got a good dose of varnish every winter.

Pete
 
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