Which is the least dispensable end of a small-boat mast?

Greenheart

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Boat's going to be scrapped. Nobody wants the whole thing or any of the parts, but I don't want to bin stuff that I've always valued.

Unfortunately I can't find space at home for anything more than 17ft 6" long. Even that'll be a squeeze. Mast's about 23ft.

Do I cut 5ft 6" off the top, on the basis that the bottom 17ft 6" might make a useful mizzen when I'm sick of whatever little sloop I buy next...

...or do I cut 5ft 6" off the bottom, thereby retaining the top end with its wind-spilling flexibility?

If I cut with great care, might it be possible to insert a tight-fitting carbon tube inside the cut end of one part, sticking out far enough to allow reassembly?
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Neeves

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It is quite normal to sleeve masts. Many were, I don't know about now, sleeved from new.

You need a 'U' shaped insert, the 'U' allows the insert to bend (and narrow the 'U') and you 'simply' then rivet. I'm not sure about the idea of a carbon insert - but not comfortable. Riveting might be more difficult, or easy, but difficult to have integrity.

I'd chop off the bottom, neatly, and keep all the parts. I might speak to mast suppliers to ensure you can source the appropriate 'U' shaped insert.

Been there, done that.

Jonathan

Edit - unless you live in an apartment or bungalow - can you not store it vertically.... like a mast. And even a bungalow has a loft.
 

greeny

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Cut at 17ft 6in and keep both sections. Can always sleeve and rebuild if you ever need again. I would cut at the lower end. I don't know why other than other sleeved masts I've seen often have the joint lower than 1/2 way.
 

fredrussell

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Do I cut 5ft 6" off the top, on the basis that the bottom 17ft 6" might make a useful mizzen when I'm sick of whatever little sloop I buy next...

...or do I cut 5ft 6" off the bottom, thereby retaining the top end with its wind-spilling flexibility?

.
Neither. You just weigh it in down yer local scrappy and accept that the next boat you buy will come with a mast and/or not need another one bolted on.
 

Greenheart

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Thanks all. I'm not going to scrap it - at least until my attempts to split it have failed. Over the years I've often worried how I'd justify the replacement cost of a mast if mine broke, so in theory it has value and use in it - possibly many years of use. Damn shame I can't sell or give it away, but it's too sound to scrap.

Flag pole's a fine idea, but I reckon it'd excite criticism, mounted diagonally from our apartment window. Could hoist a hell of a flag on it, but I don't think it'll happen.

I'll definitely have a go at cutting, for later reassembly.

Glad I asked, thanks. :)
 

Kelpie

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I sawed an old dinghy mast in half, to make it easier to store on deck. I cut it at 45⁰ on a mitre saw (aluminium is pretty soft). The angle means that it will self-align when reassembled.
The sleeve is made from thick walled tube, epoxied and rivetted in place.
 

Kelpie

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By the way, I'd agree with the idea of cutting the bottom off, assuming it's a tapered mast. I think you're more likely to find a home for it on a smaller boat that way.
And one more thing... what are your current plans re sailing? Are you taking a break until circumstances change?
 

Greenheart

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Thanks for asking. I apologise for taking the opportunity to answer at length. :sleep:

I sat in the Osprey yesterday, unscrewing hundreds of pounds' worth of fittings added over ten years. When I had to reach across the cockpit, a recent affliction (frozen shoulder) incapacitated me so painfully for 45 seconds, that I said to mademoiselle "I dunno...maybe boating's not for me".

To be fair, I can hardly lift a paperback or tin of soup from a head-height shelf at the moment, so on that basis, reading and eating aren't for me, either. But if physiotherapy (or just time) will put me right eventually, I'm still keen to cruise. Lately though, I've had so much work I'm rarely free longer than a day at a time, so berthing even a tiny yacht in a marina (with no cheap drying moorings locally) feels like a crazy waste of money.

Nevertheless, I'd like a small ballasted lifting keeler that I can keep afloat and treat as a "maximum cruising dinghy". In other words, a yacht, but given a dinghy-cruiser's flexibility regarding cabin space. I'd ignore the designer's careful allocation of space for berths, galley, etc, and instead treat the cabin like the loadbay of an estate car, giving much freer lounging/sleeping space...and I'd restrict all cooking and bathrooming to the cockpit.

So, my 'dinghy' would be low on performance after the Osprey, but still beachable with fully retracting keel and rudder. It would not capsize in any conditions I'll ever go out in, and it would self-right if it did. There'd be no fighting with a tarpaulin to make an overnight shelter; and all the kit I'd ever need for my humble cruises could be kept dry, and left permanently aboard.

31239675897_57453c473f_c.jpg


I realise none of that is new thinking.

The new bit to me, is mentally deconstructing sub-20ft boats (that were marketed as stylish seaborne 'home-comforts-afloat'), into just a bare covered space in which to picnic and lay out a decent air mattress, allowing comfortable periods away. I grew sick of my Achilles 24 (a very proper little yacht) because the proportions of its layout never allowed the most basic cruising essential - a good night's sleep.

Mademoiselle and I had terrific camping trips in our smallest tent before we acquired sophisticated kit that was actually a headache to use. I'm attracted by low-tech boating; it's cheap and fulfilling because the simplicity obliges self-reliance while rewarding a modest spirit of adventure. The detractions of dinghy cruising are exposure to weather and the capsize risk inherent to dinghies. Both largely solved in the right small yacht.

We'll see! ;)
 

ProDave

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As the thread has drifted to pocket cruisers, I thoroughly recommend a Leisure 17. Very seaworthy little boats and fun to sail and will do all you want.

You will of course notice they are mostly bilge keel. Again having owned a lifting keel boat before I thoroughly recommend the advantages of a shallow draft bilge keel as being far superior.

Re the old mast, before you get the grinder out, offer it for sale at full length where it is presently.
 

William_H

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Re the mast cutting for storage. I would suggest cutting it in half near the spreaders (and attachment of intermediate stays) The mast could then be spliced quite successfully using a section of the middle of the mast ( 30cms) as an internal splice. Cut splice section length ways to remove track sufficiently that the section can be squeezed inside the mast. Then pop rivets to hold it all together. You have a mast 30cms shorter than original. All if you get the urge to use it as a mast. Or you could still use material as a boom. ol'will
 
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