Replacement Mast

[Eric Finley]

Hi Guys

Anyone got any good tips or advice for building a new 'A' rig as broke my mast today while sailing. Looking at the mast I think the boat must have been sailed in salt water before I purchased it as it shows quite a bit of corrosion at the point of failure.

I was the only one to use the working suit, just as fast upwind as the fleet but lost out down wind unless the gusts turned up so marginal choice.

grateful for all help

Eric

[Guest]

Contact CM Yachts and ask about their light but very strong masts and booms. Mike also has a range of sails from Cat sails and Graphite sails all reasonably priced.

House Martin sails are also another company worth a punt as is BG sails. You may have to wait for your BG sails but their reputation speaks for themselves.

[Peter Sutton]

Hi Eric - ask 3 different sailors for advice on masts and you are likely to get 3 different answers.

As far as I know you have 3 choices; Housemartin, The Pierre Gonnet mast from various sources (CM and BG to name 2) and the SAILSetc mast.

What is the difference? The Housemartin mast is the stiffest because the tubing has the thickest wall. Some people find a stiffer mast makes sail setting easier. Is there a downside? Yes it is the heaviest mast weighing in at about 70 grams/metre. It is also the cheapest and is used quite happily by many r/c sailors.

The Pierre Gonnet (PG) mast is the lightest because the tubing used has the thinnest wall, it is also made from a harder and more springy material. Contrary to claims I have heard, it is not stiffer. This mast weighs in at about 46.2 grams/metre and is the most expensive. It is used by many top level sailors and some average ones too (like me!).

The SAILSetc mast falls neatly between the two extremes in terms of both stiffness, weight and cost. It weighs in at about 51.4 grams/metre For years it was seen as the 'standard' mast for IOM's and there are still loads of them in use. The choice Eric is yours.

If you are looking for new sails as well there is even more choice; SAILSetc, BG, Housemartin, Graphite, Catsails and PJ are some that I know of. Check out the suppliers on the MYA website.

I hope this helps. Pete.

[Peter Sutton]

Hello again Eric - I nearly forgot. When you have made up your new rig, don't forget to check weigh your boat to ensure that it is still in class. You don't want it overweight either.

Cheers, Pete.

[John Hanton]

Hello Eric, I suggest obtaining building instructions from whoever's sails you are using, these will give you critical measurements including pre-bend if required, getting this right is a art in itself and should be done before any holes are drilled in the mast, I believe that BG and Sails etc will supply masts already bent to suit their sails if required. I always find it tricky drilling the forestay hole dead centre and then at 90deg and perpedicular for spreaders but small vee blocks can help, of course if there is pre bend you also have to make sure this is pointing the right way ( forward ) and central. I usually wind masking tape around the mast where holes are required then measure and mark and re-measure a few times to make sure it is right. Very sharp drill bits are required espectially for the thin wall hardened tubes, it is important to keep the bit cutting as the tube soon work hardens. The goose neck can be clamped on before drilling with boom in place and the swung from side to side to check for alignment by measuring from boom end to mast top, I use a couple of small pieces of deck patch material to pack out the gooseneck at the bottom which is supposed to help in getting mainsail twist correct. If you are nervous have a go with a piece of one of the reasonably priced tubes before going for the expensive stuff.

good Luck,

John

[Eric Finley]

Hi All

Thanks for your advice/comments. I'm going to make a quick replacement mast using the components from the damaged/broken mast and a mast obtained from one of my sailing colleagues which I suspect is one of the least expensive items. This way if I do make any errors it will be no great loss. I can take most of the dimensions from the old mast by piecing the 3 parts together, the difficult one is how much pre-bend is required if any? It appears that the old mast had a small amount of bend but difficult/impossible to measure now. (using the heaviest/stiffest mast is pre-bend required?)

The sails have survived without apparent damage, they are of Sailsetc manufacture, they have a wire luff cord which will need replacement. Can anyone confirm method of attachment at the of the mast as I had to cut this wire to remove the sails from the old mast at the top, it went through a hole in the mast with a bead on the inside to stop it pulling through. I find it difficult to believe that is correct fitting method, anyone know how?

Thanks in anticipation

Eric

[John Hanton]

Hi Eric, Sounds like a good plan, my luff wires have a small loop at the top which is hooked onto the swinging wire in the mast head fitting, depends if you follow the idea of the luff swinging around the mast a bit or having the luff wire as close as possible to the mast. Sails etc masts usually have quite a lot of pre-bend, 40mm for an A rig, but if you are using thicker walled tube then less I would think. Depending how fussy you are on weight, if the replacement is heavier you can reduce the hull correctors but will then need to add the same to your B and C rigs.

John.

[Eric Finley]

Hi John

Thanks for reply on your luff wire connection, it sounds like a far better solution to my rigs old design. I assume it makes a sail change far easier than having to cut the luff wire to remove the main sail.

The top of the mast is still in one piece above the spreaders so I have attempted to measure the pre-bend which works out at approx. 15mm. I presume that there will be little bend below that point in the mast. It looks like your surmising is correct in that a thicker wall mast will have less bend, I believe from something I read that Martin Roberts has been successful in obtaining enough tension in the jib stay without any pre-bend in the mast, therefore not certain entirely what to do! (cannot find the article again where I think this information came from).

I have considered mounting the shrouds on the front of the mast rather than the side in an attempt to gain more tension in the forestay by use of shrouds rather than using pre-bend. Anyone got experience of this setup?

Previous mast appears to be a thick wall tube I am therefore not expecting the rig weight to change by much, I will check but expect the next few races my yacht will be overweight so hope not to be sailing in light air's, if so will be totally crucified.

Eric

[John Hanton]

Evening Eric, Sounds like your mast had around 20mm pre bend which may be about right for the thicker section with Sails etc sails but you are correct that Martin Roberts uses straight according to his rig building instructions, this may however suit his sails better. Fitting the shrouds to the mast front is becoming more common and is believed to add a little extra tension but I would still add a bit of bend if you can. Some attach the shrouds to a single hook on the mast front and cover with a little deck patch material to stop the jib leach line hooking up, I put mine through the hole and out of the top attached a crimp then pulled them back, the hook is easier!

John

[Eric Finley]

Sorry to be such a pain with questions but I have a couple more. First what is the best/simplest method to tension the luff wire, is it just a cord with bowsie & second I've looked at Lester Gilbert's web site for Cunningham attachments again is there a best/simplest method of attachment? I have always gone for the keep it simply philosophy but what works the best?

Thanks for all your help so far

Eric

[John Hanton]

Evening Eric, My luff wire is tensioned with cord and a small bowsie attached to very small hooks or a loop of wire fixed to the lower Goosneck attaching screws. I think some use elastic. I have a metal loop in the end of the boom for the cunningham, the cord goes from the boom through the loop around the mast back through the loop then cunningham hole back to the loop around the other side of the mast through the loop again and back to the boom, the ends are knotted and fixed to the boom with a couple of small cable ties which slide to adjust tension but are tight enough to hold position- its much simpler than it sounds! Others leave out the loops around the mast.

John

[J W Brower]

For Main Luff tension I like Tony’s method very similar to what John does. But, this one goes around the mast first before coming back to the wire loop.

And there is nothing like the simplicity of Gibson’s method of using the loop in the jackline with the single line.

Click on the photos for more examples.

[Eric Finley]

J W B

Thanks for the Photo's. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Will work my way through them to see what is there.

Eric

[Eric Finley]

J W B

Had a chance now to go looking through some of the photos & they are excellent for seeing alternative ways of rigging a boat. Given me a lot better idea of what to do. Can recommend looking at these to all.

Thanks again for posting these.

Eric