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I am building a solid mast for my 15 and I plan on using Sitka Spruce. What is everyone using for wood? I plan on laminating 2-10' and 2-12' 2x4's. Any comments would be appreciated.

Frank

Years ago I saw an article on that subject.
It was in another boat builder magazine.
Is it better than an aluminum? Or just that you want to do it?

A wood mast looks nice on some boats. Sitka Spruce, expensive and does not take the weather but its the right wood for the job. Easy to work, glues well but unexciting grain, texture or colour. Aluminum masts are lighter and more durable but they lack character. Aluminum masts are lower cost than wood but the cost of shipping can be a big factor.

Stuart

I'm not arguing here, but I have an opinion. Wrong or not, here it comes.

When you join two or three pieces of wood together lengthlize, and bend the whole unit, you are depending on the Sheer strangth of the Glue Joint's to keep the pieces of wood from seperating.
So more glue joints, the longer the run, the stronger the mast.

I've seen plans that feature three pieces of wood, 20' or longer. Another one was six or seven pieces about that same length.
Dont seem like a lot of trouble to me. The whole project might take about the same time as the shipping of an alumimum mast.

The only question I'd have would be of the Longevity of the Wood mast, and the longevity of the place the wood mast is anchored in the Hull.
How's that compare to an aluminm mast? It dont matter if you want the Wooden mast does it?

How about Yellow Cedar for mast Material? You have that all along the coast I think. We had it in Ketchikan.
Have you checked the engineering specs for any of those woods? Might be a good idea to do that.

Just built mine from sitka spruce for a Glen L 14.

It's built to the plans, basically 2 pieces of wood, make a Channel down the middle & glue them together.

Be aware it is a LOT heavier than the equivalent Aluminium mast.
This has an impact on the ease to stepping the mast when you go sailing.

Be VERY careful to make sure you glue it up bang on straight. Mine has a slight curve :'-(

But only slight.

I did cheat a little & use Alu mast track. I spent too much time playing with test pieces for the bolt rope groove & decided that the risk of messing up the mast was too high compare to the simplicity of a mast track. (Brass would have been prettier)

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Handsome piece. Looks strong enough too.
"Straight"....I did a lot of Archery. We liked straight too, but wooden Arrows seemed to bend on a Wet Day.
Nodody's gonna notice your curve if you dont mention it.

Curves are sometimes intentionally induced in masts to improve the performance! And that would be my story
Doug

Thanks guys i appreciate the input. That 14 mast looks great! I am going with Sitka. I think a wood mast looks awesome. The sitka has very good longevity and it is very strong.

Root, That is a great idea using aluminum mast track. I'll bet brass would be lots of $$$$$$$$$$

Anyone have an opinion on using Philippine Mahogany for a mast? I plan on building one for the Bull's Eye.

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Building a Bull's Eye
My Boatbuilding Blog

Depends what you are doing. Phillipine Mahogany can actually be any one of a group of tree types such as Meranti or Lauan. http://www.woodfinder.com/woods/lauan.php The properties can vary a lot so you need to know exactly what the type it is to determine how much material you need to use. There are alternatives to Sitka Spruce http://www.hainesengineering.com/rhaines/sitka.htm

Stuart

The spices I used for some of the work so far is Shorea negrosensis, common name is red luaun. I think the glen-l hardwood list says this is good for boatbuilding, but now I'm having doubts that I read it correctly. It does seem to be fairly dark and that is what the lit. says is better for marine uses. I was planning on using this for my outer shear.

Interesting article on alternatives to Sitka Spruce. The woodfinder site ranks the two stronger woods as poorly resistent to wet environments. Stronger yes, but good for boats?

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Building a Bull's Eye
My Boatbuilding Blog

Ideally, the mast stays out of the water

But seriously, Sitka Spruce is not "durable" but add varnish, and it is in fact kept out of the water. Be sure that you have good drainage holes in your mast step, and "durable" does not matter.

I would not use it for the frames / planking though..

Dave

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Hi

I decided to go with an aluminum mast on my Bull's Eye because I knew it would be in and out of the water (living on a trailer) most of the time, and I wanted the easiest/lightest/fastest rigging time possible. It was the same reasoning I went with the cat rig. I wanted it to be simple and light enough so preping the boat to sail was not so big and heavy a job it would never get used. I have no problem stepping the mast by myself. A wood mast probably would look nicer, but I have not regretted my decision.

I consoled my self with a nice mahogony boom, to match the rest of the bright work on the hull.

Cheers

Mark Chadwick
Glen-L Bull's Eye - "Sparrow"

Having raised and lowered my wooden mast a few times, the call of an aluminium mast that I don't need a Gin poe and a block and tackle to raise and lower is hard to resist.

Dave

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Hey! I built a boat ! No Really, I did !
http://davesboat.blogspot.com/