Mast construction

[Jeff plentovich]

Does anyone have thoughts on glassing a wooden mast.  

I’m building Tiki 30.  I opted to build using the “birds beak” method because of material availability.   I’m very pleased with the final product.   I was considering adding a layer of glass to the mast for additional strength and maybe peace of mind.   I have a glassing technique that I am comfortable and confident in so there is not endless painting and sanding to get a smooth finish.  

Any thoughts anyone???

[Robert]

I would avoid adding any extra weight aloft unless it is called for in the design. Hopefully the mast is strong enough when built as the designer intended. An epoxy primer and three coats of a two-part LPU paint should provide adequate abrasion protection. A mast isn’t normally subject to the kind of abuse that decks and topsides get. I suppose you could add localized abrasion protection in places where it might be useful—around blocks and winches, for example. 

[Jeff plentovich]

Hey Robert,

thanks for the input.   I have been concerned about the weight of the mast.   I’m slightly over 100 pounds as is and I still have to add the crane, shoulders and final paint.

[Ricardo Aráoz]

Epoxy being susceptible to the sun you'll have to have it always painted as being the mast flexible you'll have to wet the glass with epoxy so that the glass does not de-laminate.
All considered I'd go with just a varnished mast that may be inspected regularly and replaced or repaired if needed. Same philosophy as with the ropes holding the beams to the hulls, easy to inspect and easy to replace.

[Ian R]

Ricardo Aráoz said:

Epoxy being susceptible to the sun you'll have to have it always painted as being the mast flexible you'll have to wet the glass with epoxy so that the glass does not de-laminate.
All considered I'd go with just a varnished mast that may be inspected regularly and replaced or repaired if needed. Same philosophy as with the ropes holding the beams to the hulls, easy to inspect and easy to replace.

I agree with that. I  have my beam blocks varnished so they can be inspected because a paint surface can hide other problems. One of them needs doing now...ropes are easy also.