Deciding on a mast

[john james]

My local marine consignment shop will sell me a 36 foot mast for under a thousand bucks- masthead rig ,forward and aft shrouds attached, halyard winch, spreaders. slotted sail slides.I COULD chop 3or4 feet off,reposition the winch, fabricate a mast step, be able to use the shrouds that are on the mast. Probably reduce the amount of rake.OR I could get the proper piece of aluminum irrigation pipes shipped to me from out in the Midwest and begin my apprenticeship of turning  two 20 foot sections of irrigation pipe into a mast for my 30 foot tiki.WHAT DO YEALL THINK ----PROS&CONS both appreciated

[Budget Boater]

Make the right mast. Only takes a couple of days. Splice the two together with a sleeve and some rivets.

[boatsmith]

or you could use the 36' mast at the full length if you use marconi sails as opposed to gaff.

[john james]

Assuming that the builder rejects the sleeved sail concept in favor of standard sale slides and if he also prefers a boom along the foot of the sail it would seem that the recycled mast might be the better choice for him-- the sail plan  would revert back to an arrangement like used on the phi 26 ,31 and 42 prior to  Wharrams sleeved luff idea. If I cut the 36 foot down to 34  shrouds would probably reach to where they need to go on deck of my tiki. Guessing that the sail area would be about equal to the sleeve luff version?

[john james]

Does anybody out there know of where to buy suitable mast building aluminum schedule 10 ,5 inch -irrigation pipe? Is anybody up for a group buy/ I'm in Rhode Island.

[Budget Boater]

5" Schedule 10 is very difficult to find, at least at a decent price with no minimums. I have been looking for years. I built my Tiki 30 mast out of 5" schedule 40, and other than being heavy, it was bulletproof.

We are going to buy 6061 6" .125 wall aluminum tube this time. Our mast case is wide enough to support it, and it will be lighter than the 5" schedule 40 Tiki 30 mast.

Best prices I have found, and free shipping: https://www.metalsdepot.com/

john james said:

Does anybody out there know of where to buy suitable mast building aluminum schedule 10 ,5 inch -irrigation pipe? Is anybody up for a group buy/ I'm in Rhode Island.

[Ann and Neville Clement]

John,

I believe the alloy masts that Jacques got were Canadian.  Contact Jacques.  He had about 5 guys who all ordered together.  C'mon, one of you guys reading this should remember where that stuff came from!  

Nev and I both are convinced the gaff sail is better.  We like the way you can instantly spill wind aloft in seriously gusty weather.  I held the main sheet in my hand all across the Gulf Stream one gusty night when we needed to get across in a hurry due to a family emergency.  A bad storm also needed to be avoided.  Peace went through that night with magic speed and it was all safe because we had complete control of the power in that main sail.  At no time were we in danger and at no time did the fabric of the sail flap.  It simply curved and the boom lifted while the gaff trailed down wind and the top of the sail spilled so power was cut back as much as we wished, then resumed with just a pull on that main sheet again.  I would not trade away that ability.  Control in a storm is golden.  Also Nev reminds me that the Bermudan sail will require a higher mast to get the same sail area to drive the boat.  That will restrict you to taller bridges.

Maybe street light poles made of alloy will be available.  Not all will be tapered.

Maybe a regular oval section mast would be ok if it had a sail track that was on the inside instead of on the outside.  My old boat had an inside type of track and the slides went in there.  Maybe the gaff could work with that type of mast and no slides (of course) because you could use ropes like we do or even hoops.  I think even the sleeved sail would work on an old regular mast.  Why not?  The fabric would just curl around it same as a round shape.  Putting good leather on the gaff was kind of fun when you and I did it for Jacques boat.  Maybe do that more often if needed...?  I got that leather cheap by buying old purses at the Salvation Army.  A used mast with an inward slide should be fairly easy to find.  There is quite a lot of extra room for our gaff jaws as they go around the mast.  You put parrell balls and thin rope (stout string) to hold the gaff against the mast.  Why would that not work against an oval mast?  Nothing needs to be all that tight.  Just make wider gaff jaws.  The boom doesn't swing that far out.  Nev also suggests alloy flag poles.

Maybe this is a good enough excuse for you to come visit us and see Peace again.  

Love,  Ann and Nev

[john james]

Annie &NevilleThank you for your in-depth discussion on sail rig possibilities ,the  mast at  consignment shop is oval in shape--- I guess I  could mock up some gaff jaws out of 2by8 and see how freely they seem to work--- the sail track is internal, I have to  think that it' has some potential to be a better product than I could build out of irrigation pipes.NOT that I have any thing against irrigation pipe-- the website that Boat Smith sent me seems to have some potential but like you I remember something about a Canadian supplier which might be even better for me. I'll try to find out from Jacques where they got that material.

[dennis schneider]

dear john I am sorry no one has responded to your query; I would definitely go with the mast, etc for a $k! Since it is now  6 months later, what did you decide to do?

[dennis schneider]

(opps, I didnt see that you did get some good advice from our experts! So tell us what you ended up doing?